Avoiding Criminal Penalties                             When Transferring Firearms

Nathan G. Rawling (2010 J.D. Candidate, Quinnipiac University School of Law) recently published his note entitled A Testamentary Gift of Felony: Avoiding Criminal Penalties from Estate Firearms, 23 Quinnipiac Prob. L.J. 286 (2010). The introduction is below:

The permutations of federal firearm transfer laws, federal regulations promulgated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms ("ATF"), and state laws make for a complex landscape for transferors of firearms and their attorneys. A large number of firearms are transferred each year through intestate or testamentary transfers; a natural result of the reality that the number of gun owners in America is quite significant. According to the U.S. Department of Justice in 1995, there were about 223 million guns in the country. While testamentary gifts and intestate transfers have largely been overlooked by prosecutors and regulatory authorities, such firearm transfers and the resulting possessions are not exempt from the bulk of laws and regulations. Therefore, estate planners and executors should be prepared to take particular care in handling omnipresent estate firearms to avoid criminal and civil penalties for themselves and their client's beneficiaries.

Attribution to  Professor Gerry W. Beyer, Texas Tech Univ. School of Law, Wills, Trusts and Estates Prof Blog