Does anyone know any lawyers in Dallas that specialize in NFA trusts, and don't charge an arm and a leg? Hoping to find one under 600.
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Does anyone know any lawyers in Dallas that specialize in NFA trusts, and don't charge an arm and a leg? Hoping to find one under 600.
Any attorney licensed in Texas can do one; there isn't any need for a face to face meeting for something like this. I used Sean Cody out of Houston, who did a good job for a good price. Like with any other attorney, you will need to CYA by reviewing the trust carefully to make sure everything is spelled out like you want it. Also like any other attorney, don't expect same day service.
Google "Sean Cody Houston attorney" and his website should pop up. Do not just Google "Sean Cody" unless you want a results page filled with links to gay porn sites. Ask me how I know.
Sweet! Thank you! Heh heh so how do you know him?
Before you pay for an attorney, perhaps a bit of light reading about setting up your own trust?
http://forums.officer.com/forums/sho...-to-the-NFA...
Written by a police officer/law school student who lives in Houston.
Last edited by fencipede; 02-10-11 at 13:02.
I'm pretty sure the gay porn star is a different Sean Cody.![]()
No, Sean's a nice guy and will do a good job for you. There are real benefits to having a professional draw up your trust, but we've hashed and rehashed the pros and cons of that to death in a million other threads here.
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No worries; I don't want to get in one either but do I need to make the following points:
1) The attorney who drafted the trust that is identical to your Willmaker trust may have used Willmaker himself. That's not unheard of, but as far as I am concerned an attorney who uses Willmaker has no business doing estate planning. My trust is far more thorough than a Willmaker trust and contains detailed contingency plans for alternate trustees, disposal of the property in the event the beneficiaries do not want any interest in it after my death, and etc. I spent a significant amount of time thinking about my needs and redrafting my trust to meet them even after it was prepared for me.
2) To grossly oversimplify things, trusts generally have three actors: a grantor or settlor, who owned both the legal and equitable rights to some item, a trustee, who is entrusted by the grantor with the legal ownership of the item for the benefit of somebody else, and a beneficiary, who is granted the equitable interest in the item and reaps the benefit of the trustee's oversight. With that in mind, take a look at the trust (made with Quicken) in the link fencipede posted. Specifically, look for what it does not mention.
It doesn't mention any person other than the grantor. It has a trustee (the gun owner) and a grantor (the gun owner) and a beneficiary (the gun owner). One guy owns every interest, legal and equitable, in the NFA item, for his own benefit.
I don't know the legal effect of a trust like that in Arizona, but in Texas, where that trust was formed, under the Probate Code and applicable case law it is not a trust. That paper creates nothing. It owns nothing. It is nothing more than two sheets of paper with ZERO legal significance. The guy who posted it owns his NFA item individually without having gone through the requirements the ATF set out for individual ownership. This is a highly technical area of law that non-attorneys very often don't understand. I specifically include here the ATF examiners who review the trusts, who are not lawyers and who do not verify that your trust complies with local laws.
So having said that, what is the downside to what he did? Will the ATF knock on his door and prosecute him? Will his home become a miniature Waco or another Ruby Ridge? Probably not, but I certainly don't intend to find out for myself. Some people are more risk averse than I am. I continue to maintain that if you are interested in minding your P's and Q's, having an attorney either draft your trust or review your home-brewed one is something that may be worth your consideration.
Last edited by TriumphRat675; 02-10-11 at 18:53.
I also used Sean for a trust.
one phone call and a few emails and Im GtG.
he's done hundreds of these and they are "battle worthy"
seancody@houstonattorney.org
Sean Cody
Attorney at Law
440 Louisiana St., Suite 1900
Houston, TX 77002
(O) 281.451.4175
(F) 713.513.5918
www.HoustonAttorney.org
www.TexasNFATrust.com
www.AtomicLabRat.com
I live in Dallas and set up my trust through Sean Cody as well.
He did a great job and I highly recommend him.
<----Lawyer talking FWIW: If all the guy did for $500 was draw up a form trust that is certainly a rip off. What you are supposed to get when you draw up a trust/estate plan goes far beyond filling in blanks on a form. However when it comes to the form about 80% of the time that is exactly what we do - fill in the blanks in the form.
That being said you have to actually sit down and hash things out with a client a bit before you know whether they fall in that 80% category or not. That and the fact there are other docs and things to consider as part of a typical "draw up a trust" scenario.
I have ZERO experience with NFA trusts because NFA is not allowed in IL. However I suspect most lawyers approach this from the perspective of the work they have in an estate planning situation which is substantial. Presumably that same amount of work is not required for an NFA trust and realistically the price should be a lot lower if the work is not put in.
ETA @ TriumphRat: Obviously individual situations differ and some people need complex trust instruments. My experience doing estate settlment for the last 10+ years: At least 80% of people who need or benefit from a trust need nothing more than a very simple trust. 3 or 4 pages will get the job done most of the time, but lawyers like to baffle people with bullshit to make sure people think they got their moneys worth. Obviously this relates to my specific situation which is dealing with IL law, and small town clients up to about $5mil in assets. Not saying you don't need the trust you have, just that my experience is that most people don't, but lawyers don't make money not doing stuff.
Last edited by Makintrax73; 02-11-11 at 14:12.
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