An NFA Trust is legal entity used to acquire machine guns, suppressors and other items which must be registered (as Class 3 items) under the National Firearms Act. Since the trust is a separate entity, and not considered as an individual, the mandatory approval of ATF Form 4 transfer documents by the chief law enforcement officer (CLEO) in the city in which you live is not required. Over the last few years many CLEOs have become much more conservative and have refused to approve ATF Form 4 transfer documents, even for retired military and police personnel.

NFA Trust Lawyer Martin Seidler prepares NFA trusts for Texas residents to allow them to acquire class 3 weapons including SBR’s (Short Barrel Rifles). His trusts are revocable in nature and may be used in other states after review and possible revision by a trust attorney experienced in such sister state’s laws.

A revocable trust is much like a will. For tax purposes, it is considered a Grantor Trust with any income taxed to the Grantor (creator) of the Trust. The trust designates those who run the entity (the trustees) and their powers. The trust also designates those for whom the trust was created – the beneficiaries. It sets forth who administers the trust when a trustee dies or becomes unable to serve. Provisions are also made for the use and benefit of trust assets by the trustees and the beneficiaries over the life of the trust which can last several generations. The trust also makes provision for the distribution of the trust assets upon its termination.This means that class 3 weapons placed in the trust can remain in the trust for years to be enjoined by several generations without the need to continually transfer them upon the death of the grantor or a single beneficiary.

NFA items purchased in the name of the trust are conveyed to the trust by means of an ATF form 4 which names the trust as the transferee. Non-nfa property transferred into the trust is done so by means of a bill of sale which documents the transfer of such property into the trust and can be used as evidence as to what the trust owns years after the death of the grantor. Transfers into and from the NFA Trust of NFA items are subject to the $200.00 federal transfer tax per item.

NFA Trust Attorney Martin Seidler, is an honors graduate of the University of Florida and St. Mary’s University School of Law. He has practiced law for over 30 years in San Antonio, Texas. For years he also served as a panel bankruptcy trustee for the Administrative Office of the United States Courts and later under the Office of the United States Trustee, a component of the United States Department of Justice handling thousands of Chapter 7 Bankruptcy cases. Over the years he has drafted numerous trusts and handled trust and firearms litigation in state and federal courts. He continues to represent individuals and businesses in bankruptcy and reorganization proceedings as well a personal injury, wrongful death, home equity loan avoidance and consumer litigation. He also assists clients in selling and acquiring Class three weapons.