SDR, BSOD and a blown radio: Question for the Experts

Hopefully the mods don't mind me using a small corner of /r/amateurradio to explain, but I think a lot of hams, being the self-reliant types, might appreciate. So, here goes. Feel free to delete if appropriate. Also, is Lawyers love disclaimers. I am a lawyer, but not your lawyer. This information is intended for education and is not legal advice.

The real initial question is why do you want a trust? ATF 41F somewhat upended the whole trust game, and basically changed the type of person who could benefit from a trust.

Prior to the effective date of 41F, a suppressor can be purchased by a trust, and the can is registered to the trust. The parties to the trust do not need to submit photographs or fingerprints, but the trustee is still subject to a NICS check via a 4473. Historically though, the real reason for trusts was to avoid the requirement that your local chef law enforcement officer had to sign your Form 4. Many flat out refused, and the trust was used to negate this issue.

Upon ATF 41F implementation, all responsible parties (trustees) must submit a photograph and fingerprint. However, no party (trust or individual) will need a law enforcement certification.

So, if you are considering a trust to avoid the CLEO requirement, it might not be of much value.

However, since all NFA items cannot be transferred from person to person without registration and payment of a $200 tax, a properly-formatted trust to allow for multiple trustees as possessors of the article can be very useful, especially if your spouse/roommate/shooting buddy will have or want access to the item. Additionally, there comes a point where a trust can be useful for estate planning or property protection issues (spendthrift trusts).

So, now to your real question:

  1. Creating a trust (and using those pre-packages trusts) to avoid the CLEO sign off requirement is useful but will only be a viable and necessary solution for about the next 4 weeks. After that, doing a trust only adds unnecessary legal confusion to the situation.

  2. If your goal for a trust is to protect assets, allow multiple possessors, or conduct estate planning, then you definitely should consult a lawyer to make sure your trust does exactly what you want it to. Most color-by-number trusts do not do these things by default.

  3. It is very easy to screw up one of those trusts. For [one] example, if your trustees and beneficiaries ever vest in the same person, you have a merger of interests problem. The trust dissolves (ceases to exist) and you are left in possession of an unregistered silencer (remember, the trust is dead). A properly drafted trust can prevent this.

tl;dr A trust is a tool that can do what it is designed to do. An "instant trust", while perhaps the harbor freight version of said tool will likely work well enough. But, if your job is to remove a bolt, even the nicest paint sprayer in the world won't help you much.

/r/amateurradio Thread Parent