Basic Trust Questions

[South]

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[BigWaylon]

First...no
Second...you can, but there's no need or requirement. I did it without understanding why, and used the checks for my first two stamps. The next 10 stamps were all paid for with personal checks or credit cards. The ATF doesn't care where the money comes from. A lot of times with a Form 4 (especially when EForms was working), the dealer actually paid the tax and you reimbursed the dealer. I've yet to directly pay the ATF for an F4, and that's six stamps (1 eForm, 5 paper).
Third...executing is simply signing it and getting it notarized
Fourth...the trust needs to be funded to be legal in most states, and that simply means it can't be empty. You could fund it with the lower you mentioned in question one, or you could use a $1 bill (or go high dollar and use a $2 bill). Most people use something with a serial number, which is why paper money is used. For mine, I listed the $200 I would use on my first stamp.

[South]

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[BigWaylon]

You have to list something on the Schedule A if your trust is written to include one.

Mine simply had a title of Schedule A, and then $200 on the next line, and then a page full of blank lines. Mine was drafted by a lawyer, so it wasn't just me doing whatever I wanted. The money is not separate in a bank account or stapled/clipped to anything. Remember...if you out it in the bank, that same $200 is most likely never going to end up back in your hands anyway. That's why lots of people take a single dollar bill and list it with the serial number.

I sent that exact same copy in for all 12 stamps. Nine have been approved so far, three still pending.

Some people add the lower, some don't. It makes zero difference. Your trust can hold a non-NFA item if you want, which is what the lower is when you first buy it. Some wait for it to be approved. With a Form 4, you'd wait until stamp received because you're not taking possession of the item until then anyway.

[South]

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[BigWaylon]

Thanks again BW, that cleared it up for me. Last thing, (I hope), if I were to list the lower on the form when I send it in, when I get the stamp back, does anything need to be done then since the lower is listed already?

I'd assume not...but haven't done it that way so I've never checked as to whether I need to dot another "I" or cross another "T" at that point.

[Jwknutson17]

Some people add the lower, some don't. It makes zero difference. Your trust can hold a non-NFA item if you want, which is what the lower is when you first buy it. Some wait for it to be approved. With a Form 4, you'd wait until stamp received because you're not taking possession of the item until then anyway.

This.. I used a 2 dollar bill. No point in putting items on the Schedule that aren't approved yet. Buddy of mine puts his NFA item in his, (along with something else like a 2 dollar bill) but puts the word pending in the date of acceptance box or whatever your Schedule shows for the date. Either way, neither of us have had one come back denied. With having only a small item like a 2 dollar bill, I have one scanned copy of the complete trust with the schedule A. Never have to change a thing when sending it in. Same for every item. He on the other hand, changes schedule A, and then re-saves a new copy of trust for every NFA item. Then has someone sign as witness to the new schedule and dates it. Kind of a PITA in my opinion doing it that way. One and done is the way to go.

[Jwknutson17]

I'd assume not...but haven't done it that way so I've never checked as to whether I need to dot another "I" or cross another "T" at that point.

Wouldnt have to do anything but the approval date from "pending" to the actual date the stamp was received.

[South]

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[Jwknutson17]

I hear that. I spent countless hours and days trying to research everything at first. Not to difficult once you get it down. Better to get it right the first time, then have them come back with errors on the form, and have to wait another 3 weeks on top of your 9 months.