The following are some common questions that customers have about the Wildcat Trust brand NFA trust package. If your question is not answered here, feel free to e-mail us at wildcattrust@gmail.com.
How do I use this trust?
It’s pretty simple. Buy and download the trust package. Follow the included instructions to fill in the blanks, then sign and notarize your trust. The decide whether you’re going to buy or make an NFA firearm, and follow the instructions for on the relevant ATF forms.
How many NFA firearms can I put in this trust?
As many as you want! Once you have an NFA trust, that’s the last trust you need to set up for NFA ownership. You can buy as many NFA firearms as you can afford and hold them all in the same trust.
Who wrote this trust?
The Wildcat Trust package was developed by a licensed attorney. It is based on the trust that he drafted for his clients and that he uses himself to own NFA firearms. Besides the hundreds of clients that had trusts drafted by this attorney, the Wildcat Trust package has been used by hundreds more customers. While buying this trust package does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and the attorney who created it, you can be confident that the language in the Wildcat Trust has been successfully used to buy and own NFA firearms by hundreds of people.
What kind of trust is this?
The Wildcat Trust brand NFA trust is a “revocable living trust.” Once you have created it, it lasts until you pass away or until you sell all the trust property and dissolve the trust. When you pass away, the trust only exists as long as it takes to distribute the trust property to your beneficiaries, and then automatically dissolves.
If I buy this trust, do I still have to pay the $200 tax to the ATF?
Unfortunately, yes. There’s no way around paying the $200 tax to the ATF for each NFA firearm that you want to own. However, a Wildcat Trust-brand NFA trust allows you to share your NFA firearms with close friends and family.
Can I put my regular firearms in my Wildcat Trust brand NFA trust?
Yes, but it isn’t recommended. This is an NFA trust with NFA-specific language. Although any type of property can be placed into this trust, you should only use it for NFA firearms. There is a limited benefit, for most people, in owning regular firearms using a trust. The biggest drawback to listing your regular firearms in an NFA trust is that when you submit a tax stamp application, you must supply the ATF with a list of all the property owned by the trust. The ATF will already know about your NFA firearms, since they are in the NFA registry. However, I do not recommend voluntarily supplying a list of all your regular firearms to the ATF, which is what you would be doing if you place your regular firearms into this trust.
Does the ATF do a background check on people listed on a trust?
Yes, anyone who is listed as a trustee at the time of a tax stamp application must complete a Responsible Person Questionnaire, which includes fingerprints and photographs. However, if you add someone as a trustee later, there is no requirement to notify the ATF or complete a Responsible Person Questionnaire. However, anyone listed on a trust is still subject to federal law. Prohibited persons may not be trustees of an NFA trust.
Can I own NFA firearms with a trust if I’m a prohibited person?
NO! There is no magic formula to allow a prohibited person to own NFA firearms. Even if you are listed as a trustee on an NFA trust and the ATF does not do a background check on you, you’re still in violation of federal criminal law if you are a prohibited person and you possess an NFA firearm. Don’t try to cheat the system using a Wildcat Trust-brand NFA trust.
Does this trust allow me to name trustees with limited powers?
The trust only has one class of trustees, with the full powers of a trustee under this trust. However, the language of the Wildcat Trust-brand NFA trust requires trustees to have the express permission of the grantor before buying and selling trust property. It’s impossible to write language that will stop people from behaving badly, but as long as you name only people you can trust as trustees, the Wildcat Trust has the strongest possible language to legally protect you from trustees acting outside the scope of their powers.
How old do trustees have to be?
A trustee must be at least 18 years old and not a prohibited person. (A person must be 21 to buy an NFA firearm from a dealer, but only 18 to legally possess one.)
Who can I name as trustees? Can my trustees live in a different state?
You can name anyone you want as a trustee, as long as they can legally serve in that role. However, you should limit your trustees to close friends and family that you can truly trust. Your trustees don’t have to live in the same state as you. They may even live in a state that doesn’t allow NFA firearms. However, they can only possess the trust’s NFA firearms while they are in a state that allows NFA firearm possession. That means you can name a trustee who lives in a restrictive state so that they can possess the trust’s NFA firearms when they travel to your state to visit.
Who can I name as beneficiaries? What if they’re not yet 18?
Beneficiaries are the people who inherit your trust property when you pass away. They don’t have the legal right to possess it while you’re still alive, unless they are also named as a trustee. You can name anyone you want as a beneficiary. You can even have joint beneficiaries, or first, second, third and fourth beneficiaries. (These are known as primary, secondary, tertiary, and so on.) You can name a minor as a beneficiary. If you pass away before the minor turns 18, then your trust requires the person named as the successor trustee to hold on to the trust property until your beneficiary is old enough to inherit.
What is a successor trustee?
A successor trustee is a special type of trustee whose job doesn’t begin until you pass away. It is their duty to distribute the trust property to the beneficiaries, including holding the property for minor beneficiaries until they’re old enough to inherit. The successor trustee fills out the tax-free Form 5 transfer paperwork and submits it to the ATF. A successor trustee can only possess the trust property after you pass away, unless they are also named as regular trustee.
Can I add or remove trustees, successor trustees or beneficiaries?
Yes, you can. This is done with a trust “amendment” and the Wildcat Trust package includes an amendment form that you can use to do this.
How many people can I list on this trust?
The Wildcat Trust package allows for one grantor (that’s you), up to eight trustees, two successor trustees, and four beneficiary spots. (Multiple people can listed as joint beneficiaries in any one of the beneficiary spots.)
How do I add property to the trust?
Trust property is listed on a form called the Schedule A. To add property to the trust, you just list it on the Schedule A and print a new copy to keep with your trust. (Then you can discard the old Schedule A.) Any time you apply for a new tax stamp for a new NFA firearm, you just add that property to your Schedule A.
What if I move?
The Wildcat Trust is recognized in all 50 states. It will always be governed by the law of the state where you completed it, even if you move to a new state. Your trust’s address is contained in a document called the Schedule B. The only thing you need to do with your trust when you move, whether in-state or to a new state, is to update the address on your trust by printing a new Schedule B with your new address.
What if I already own NFA firearms as an individual?
You can continue to own those NFA firearms as an individual and leave them out of your trust if you wish. Just remember which are owned by you and which are owned by the trust, since trustees cannot possess your individually-owned NFA items. If you want to transfer your older NFA firearms into the trust, you may, but you will have to do a new Form 4 transfer for each one and pay a new $200 transfer tax. Since this could be a significant cost, ask yourself whether an NFA trust is right for you.
What if I’ve already bought an NFA item but don’t have my tax stamp yet?
That depends. If you’ve paid for your NFA item at the dealer, but haven’t submitted the paperwork to the ATF, then now is the time to create your trust. Then you can apply for the tax stamp in the name of the trust. If you have already submitted your transfer paperwork to the ATF, then you have two choices: you can cancel the application and resubmit it in the name of the trust. (Warning: this can be a real pain and your dealer may not want to do it!) Or, you can wait until you receive the tax stamp as an individual, and then do a second Form 4 trasnsfer to your trust and pay a second $200 transfer tax.
Do I need addresses or social security numbers for the people I want to list on the trust?
No. To finish your trust, you only need your own name, your own address, and the full names of the people you want to list as trustees, successor trustees and beneficiaries.
How do I complete this trust?
The Wildcat Trust package is a fill-in-the-blank trust package that uses fillable PDF forms. You just enter the information into the forms, print the documents, and then sign them in front of a notary. Once you’ve done that, you have a valid trust that is ready to use.
Can I change the name of my trust later?
Once you have picked your trust name, and created your trust, you cannot change the name later. Almost any term in a trust can be changed later (although some changes may require the assistance of a knowledgeable attorney), but the trust name can never change. To change the name, you would have to create a new trust and pay to transfer all your NFA firearms to the new trust. Pick your trust name carefully!
Can more than one person use the same trust?
The Wildcat Trust package only allows one person to be the grantor, who retains ultimate control over the trust. You may allow trustees to buy property to place into the trust, but it is not recommended. Once the property is in the trust, they lose any legal right to it. You control the ultimate disposition of any property placed into your trust. It’s best for anyone who wants to own NFA firearms to get their own trust.
Isn’t this trust just boilerplate language?
All trusts use boilerplate language. This trust was drafted to have NFA-specific language. In that way, it is superior to other “generic” revocable living trusts when it comes to owning NFA firearms. When you pay an attorney to draft a trust for you, they are not researching the law and creating the trust from scratch every time. Attorneys use “boilerplate” trust forms to create trusts for clients. The extra cost of retaining an attorney to create a trust goes into the overhead costs for their office, their advice that is specifically tailored to your situation, and providing support for the trust after the fact. The Wildcat Trust package is less expensive because you complete the trust yourself and are not paying an attorney to advise you.