Tennessee NFA Trust Lawyer on: Gun Trusts in the New Political Climate

Last month, in the span of a few days, the gun community in the United States was turned upside-down. The plentiful supply and relatively low prices of the last two years came to a crashing halt. Now the situation is a very low supply and extremely high prices for those guns, magazines, and ammunition that are available.

There is talk of a weapons ban, maybe even a permanent one. Manufacturers, store owners, and casual shooters have all been affected by this. As a Tennessee gun trust lawyer, I too have felt it. I’ve seen a significant increase in the number of potential clients interested in setting up a firearms trust, and many people are asking me what’s going to happen. There is a lot of uncertainty right now regarding NFA trusts and the possibility of a gun ban.

Will the NFA be closed entirely? Will military-style, semi-automatic weapons be banned or put into the NFA, alongside suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and machine guns? Will there be a grandfather clause for weapons bought or registered before any ban? Will the government prohibit all transfers of these weapons, meaning ones you have now cannot be sold or passed on to heirs?

No one knows the answers to these questions right now.

Another question that I get asked is: Will a trust protect my weapons from a ban?

Again, we won’t know unless there is a ban, and what it says exactly. That could take years. If you’re thinking of buying NFA weapons then a trust is probably a good idea. Your family can legally possess those weapons, and you’ll insure that the right beneficiaries inherit them. And you can then add your non-NFA guns into it.

If you want to set up a trust just to protect your non-NFA weapons and you have no desire to buy suppressors or short-barreled rifles, you should wait to see if a ban is going to be passed, and what it says exactly.

Patrick Stegall is a Tennessee NFA Trust Lawyer. Based in Memphis, he drafts trusts for gun owners and their families throughout Tennessee. He is also licensed in Mississippi. For more information, please email him at pstegall@stegall-law.com.