Is it legal to put minor children on a trust?

[SW-Shooter]

Can I put my minor children on a trust?

My children are 12 and 10.

As always, thank you.

[vaglocker]

So they can inherit the items in the trust, or as Trustees?

[Henchman]

Good question. I would like to know the answer myself. Can they be listed as trustees?

[glocktogo]

I don't believe that the ATF does a background check on anyone except the primary signatory, but they may check the other officers of the Trust. We put our then underage nephew as the beneficiary of our Trust and it went through just fine. He should be able to inherit the items without paying the tax since his name is on the Trust.

Obviously if you get your kids on the Trust, they can't have unsupervised possession of the items until they turn 18 of course.

[vaglocker]

I have my son as the beneficiary and he is still a minor. Probably not legal for them to be a trustee until they are 18 but I'm no lawyer.

[dbrowne1]

............

[Robb Jensen]

Legal but they cannot possess NFA firearms unless they are 21 yrs of age. Regardless of if it's owned by a Corp, LLC, Trust or individual.

[CAR-AR-M16]

I don't believe that the ATF does a background check on anyone except the primary signatory, but they may check the other officers of the Trust. We put our then underage nephew as the beneficiary of our Trust and it went through just fine. He should be able to inherit the items without paying the tax since his name is on the Trust.

Obviously if you get your kids on the Trust, they can't have unsupervised possession of the items until they turn 18 of course.

You do not have to have a trust to do a tax free transfer of an NFA item to a lawful heir. If the NFA items are owned by an individual they would transfer tax free on an ATF Form 5 to the lawful heir named in your will.

From ATF NFA Handbook: http://www.atf.gov/publications/download/p/atf-p-5320-8/atf-p-5320-8-chapter-9.pdf

9.5.3 Distribution of estate firearms. A decedent’s registered NFA firearms may be conveyed taxexempt
to lawful heirs. These distributions are not treated as voluntary “transfers” under the NFA.
Rather, they are considered to be involuntary “transfers by operation of law.” Under this concept, ATF
will honor State court decisions relative to the ownership and right to possess NFA firearms. So, when
State courts authorize the distribution of estate firearms to decedents’ lawful heirs, ATF will approve the
distribution and registration to the heirs if the transactions are otherwise lawful. A lawful heir is anyone
named in the decedent’s will or, in the absence of a will, anyone entitled to inherit under the laws of the
State in which the decedent last resided.

9.5.3.1 Distributions to heirs. Although these distributions are not treated as “transfers” for
purposes of the NFA, Form 5 must be filed by an executor or administrator to register a firearm
to a lawful heir and the form must be approved by ATF prior to distribution to the heir. The
form should be filed as soon as possible. However, ATF will allow a reasonable time to arrange
for the transfer. This generally should be done before probate is closed. When a firearm is being
transferred to an individual heir, his or her fingerprints on FBI Forms FD-258 must accompany
the transfer application. The application will be denied if the heir’s receipt or possession of the
firearm would violate Federal, State, or local law. The law enforcement certification on the form
need not be completed. The form should also be accompanied by documentation showing the
executor’s or administrator’s authority to distribute the firearm as well as the heir’s entitlement
to the firearm. Distributions to heirs should not be made until Forms 5 are approved. Executors
and administrators are not required to have estate firearms registered to them prior to distribution
to lawful heirs.

[Velcro]

My kids are listed as beneficiaries.

Also, on a side note, know that if there are multiple "Trustee's" that in order for a Trustee to be removed from a Trust, "they" have to resign.



Velcro