ltwguns.com

No, no one on this list is going to be in my Will.
As an "accumulator", not fancy enough to be a collector, I have a fair number of high end 1911's. And some nice HiPowers. My wife and daughters do not have the slightest interest in them.

If something happens to me,the local shop would give them pennies on the dollar. Have any of you thought ahead to this sort of thing?

I travel a fair amount internationally, not always to the best places. One time I left notes in the barrels of each gun with some suggestions.. They are long gone.

And I do not have any shooter/collector friends to oversee the disposition.

Anyway, looking for some serious suggestions.

thank you
Richard

Hello Richard,

I am in the same quandry. I have an estranged brother who will get nothing from me. My wife will keep her Glock 19 and 3 revolvers but the rest of what i have is "up for grabs" so to speak". I have no children.

My answer if and when something happens to me, is for my my to call Ted Yost @Yost-Bonitz. The number is in my cell directory. They are to be donated to a worthy cause.

_________________
"No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave."
Calvin Coolidge

I have to believe a good attorney would be able to give you the appropriate document and language to protect your wishes but from a lay perspective you may consider something like the following suggestions.

Stipulate the guns are to be distributed in the following manner:

• First, to any family member with a sincere interest in shooting (Reguire what you deem important and view as sincere i.e. NRA Life member, State Rifle & Pistol member, 1911Society member, etc. or specific training. This furthers the shooting sports in your family although it may be through a third cousin or the like.
  
  Second, to the most 'local' USPSA, IPSC, IDPA or NRA Junior Team for use or as fundraising items.
  
  Third, to the local USPSA, IPSC or IDPA club for use as fundraising items.

The above provides tremendous opportunity to perpetuate legacy. It also serves as a vehicle to nurture the shooting sports versus the alternative of 'giving them away' for "pennies on the dollar."

FWIW and respectfully submitted.

_________________
Regards,
Will M.

Member: NRA (Life) - ORPA (Life) - GSSF (Life) - OFCC (Annual) - Buckeye Firearms Association (Annual)

Write up a list of your collection and include:

Type of gun
Serial number
Value as of date on list

Keep this with your will to give your heirs a reference point for liquidation.

A list is good, an expanded list might be better
- including some indication of how the value is determined,
what's special about a given firearm, and
a mention, obsolete though it may become, of anybody who had expressed a particular interest in particular gun or
anybody who might be particularly interested in buying at a fair price.

Moreover it might be a good idea to make some notes about legal issues - for instance folks in Illinois need to be sure everybody in the family has a FOID - there are stories of the man of the family passing away and nobody else in the family has a FOID and so possession of the firearms is suddenly illegal. I know an old man in California who has had a real sword cane for many years. Possession of a sword cane is a mandatory 1 year sentence in California - not something to be listed on an inventory or sold at an estate sale. I expect rules and regulations to be more burdensome every year.

There's a story in the literature someplace of somebody who took satisfaction in leaving a gun in his will: to ____ who always said he could outshoot me if he had my gun - here it is, have fun.

It's hard not to say me me, but you could leave the specific guns to a trustee with specific wishes that the guns be auction off in the name of a specific cause like...... louder that words or such. A lawyer would be able to help you with that.
Bryan

Identify each firearm with specificity, including serial number, make and model. Make your desires known about what you are doing with it, including who and exactly which specific firearm they get.

For example, to my brother Jon VN I leave my .45 Ted Yost Custom, One Star Elite, Colt Commander, Serial number __________, and my 8 Wilson Combat 46D 8 round magazines.

Different example, I leave my .45 Ted Yost Custom, One Star Elite, Colt Commander, Serial number __________, to Louder than Words to use for charitable purposes as they see fit.

Making such a specific bequest both valid and enforcable is easy for a competent attorney.

(remember, that the law varies from state to state and what may be legal, valid, and enforcable in Texas may not be any of the three in your state) - not a bad disclaimer if I do say so myself.

JeffVN

Interesting topic. I had to write up a will not too recently and spent a great deal of time specifying who got which gat. I would definitely use serial #s if there is even the most remote possibility of an argument.

On a similar note...I had a friend of the family who was worried about his failing health and though he had accumulated enough $ to take care of his wife for the rest of her life if he died, but not after the Gov't took out there huge bite of inheritance taxes, so he came up with the idea (good idea? you be the judge) to have fun with his life savings and avoid the big death tax. He decided to invest most of his life savings in his passion of collecting fine shotguns. He had an enormous walk-in vault built in his house and just started buying all the shotguns he had always dreamed of. It was an amazing sight to see. He figured if he died they would be pre-under insured thus not heavily taxed and anytime his wife needed $ some of his friends could sell a few shotguns for her.

_________________
God Bless
45Fundi