Inherited Firearms

[Animal13]

Hello All,

My wife Step Father recently passed and left everything under the roof to her and her siblings. None of them wish to take ownership of the firearms. My wifes brother was listed as the executor on the estate. How does one proceed with transferring those firearms over to me?

Thank you for any insight.

 

[socalgunowner909]

This might be the best route to take.

Confirm the guns are legal in California

• Make sure none are assault weapons, NFA items (like short-barreled rifles/shotguns or machine guns), or otherwise prohibited in CA.
• If there’s anything on the CA banned list, it may need to be sold out of state, or modified before transfer. (OFF ROSTER PISTOLS ARE OK)

---

Get them from the estate to you

• Because you are not an immediate family member under California’s “intrafamilial” exemption (which only covers parent/child/grandparent/grandchild), you cannot just do an “operation of law” form on your own.
• The safest, most compliant method: transfer them through a CA FFL (gun dealer) using the Dealer Record of Sale (DROS) process.

Paper trail steps

• The executor (your wife’s brother) takes the firearms to a CA FFL along with:
  • Proof he’s the executor (Letters Testamentary or similar court doc)
  • Proof of inheritance rights (will or estate inventory)
• The FFL logs them in and processes a standard transfer to you:
  • You must have a Firearm Safety Certificate (FSC) (unless exempt)
  • You must pass the background check
  • You must wait the 10-day waiting period
• You’ll also pay the DROS fee (currently $37.19)

I would also call your local FFL and run this info by them and see what they say. They might require more proof or something completely different. But I bet the process is somewhat similar to what is being dicussed above. I would love to see what an FFL person on this site has to say about this.

 

[Dvrjon]

Not a lawyer, but I ran a similar gauntlet when my Dad died (fortunately, there was a Trust…not a “Gun Trust” but a revocable trust containing a will)).

Is there a Trust or just a will? If only a will and the value of the estate reaches a certain level, there is an annoyingly long and expensive probate process ahead of you.

With a Trust, the Executor can act without probate and doesn’t need Letters Testamentory from the court.

Unless a will specifically designates assignment of the firearms to specific individuals, the firearms are usually assets of the estate. That makes their value available to all heirs. The heirs who don’t want to accept the firearms may need to sign a disclaimer of inheritance for the firearms, essentially forsaking any financial considerations for passing on the guns. Otherwise, they may be able to claim a financial offset of the guns’ values against the rest of the estate. The guns then go to the remaining heir (your wife).

As an inheritance, she can execute an Operation of Law for all firearms for a fee of $19, total. She needs a Firearms Safety Certificate to do this. The guns are then in your house. At a future date, your wife may gift them to you or you and she may agree to transmute ownership solely to yourself.

Your BIG problem right now is if this is a will which needs to go to probate.

 

[socalgunowner909]

Not a lawyer, but I ran a similar gauntlet when my Dad died (fortunately, there was a Trust…not a “Gun Trust” but a revocable trust containing a will)).

Is there a Trust or just a will? If only a will and the value of the estate reaches a certain level, there is an annoyingly long and expensive probate process ahead of you.

With a Trust, the Executor can act without probate and doesn’t need Letters Testamentory from the court.

Unless a will specifically designates assignment of the firearms to specific individuals, the firearms are usually assets of the estate. That makes their value available to all heirs. The heirs who don’t want to accept the firearms may need to sign a disclaimer of inheritance for the firearms, essentially forsaking any financial considerations for passing on the guns. Otherwise, they may be able to claim a financial offset of the guns’ values against the rest of the estate. The guns then go to the remaining heir (your wife).

As an inheritance, she can execute an Operation of Law for all firearms for a fee of $19, total. She needs a Firearms Safety Certificate to do this. The guns are then in your house. At a future date, your wife may gift them to you or you and she may agree to transmute ownership solely to yourself.

Your BIG problem right now is if this is a will which needs to go to probate.

This might be the easiest option.

 

[DB2896]

As an inheritance, she can execute an Operation of Law for all firearms for a fee of $19, total. She needs a Firearms Safety Certificate to do this. The guns are then in your house. At a future date, your wife may gift them to you or you and she may agree to transmute ownership solely to yourself.

This is exactly what my FFL suggested when I asked him about a similar situation regarding my wife and FIL.

 

[Animal13]

Not a lawyer, but I ran a similar gauntlet when my Dad died (fortunately, there was a Trust…not a “Gun Trust” but a revocable trust containing a will)).

Is there a Trust or just a will? If only a will and the value of the estate reaches a certain level, there is an annoyingly long and expensive probate process ahead of you.

With a Trust, the Executor can act without probate and doesn’t need Letters Testamentory from the court.

Unless a will specifically designates assignment of the firearms to specific individuals, the firearms are usually assets of the estate. That makes their value available to all heirs. The heirs who don’t want to accept the firearms may need to sign a disclaimer of inheritance for the firearms, essentially forsaking any financial considerations for passing on the guns. Otherwise, they may be able to claim a financial offset of the guns’ values against the rest of the estate. The guns then go to the remaining heir (your wife).

As an inheritance, she can execute an Operation of Law for all firearms for a fee of $19, total. She needs a Firearms Safety Certificate to do this. The guns are then in your house. At a future date, your wife may gift them to you or you and she may agree to transmute ownership solely to yourself.

Your BIG problem right now is if this is a will which needs to go to probate.

This is just a Will.

I will call our local FFL and ask if they have any further suggestions on how best to proceed. Thank you all very much for your quick responses. It is very helpful.