Florida Gun Trust Attorney

A gun trust is a revocable living trust designed specifically to hold firearms — including items regulated under the National Firearms Act (NFA) such as suppressors, short-barreled rifles (SBRs), short-barreled shotguns (SBSs), and machine guns. The trust, rather than you as an individual, is the legal owner of the firearms it holds.

This structure solves three problems that individual ownership cannot: it allows multiple people to lawfully possess and use the firearms; it provides a clear, probate-free succession plan; and it ensures that every transfer — during your lifetime and at your death — complies with federal law.

Florida has no state-level restrictions on gun trusts beyond federal law. A properly drafted Florida gun trust is governed by the Florida Trust Code (Fla. Stat. Chapter 736) and must comply with the National Firearms Act (26 U.S.C. § 5801 et seq.), the Gun Control Act (18 U.S.C. § 922), and ATF regulations including the 2016 Final Rule (41F) governing NFA transfers to trusts.

For a deeper look at the basics, see: What is a gun trust and do I need one in Florida?

The National Firearms Act regulates the manufacture, transfer, and possession of certain categories of firearms. A properly drafted gun trust can hold any of the following NFA items — provided they are lawfully owned and properly transferred to the trust through the ATF Form 4 process:

Transferring an NFA item to a gun trust requires submitting ATF Form 4 (Application for Tax Paid Transfer and Registration of Firearm) along with a $200 tax stamp per item, fingerprints and passport photographs for each responsible person named in the trust, and a copy of the trust document.

Under the 2016 ATF Final Rule — commonly called Rule 41F — every responsible person associated with a trust or legal entity must submit fingerprints and photographs with each Form 4 application. A responsible person is generally any individual who has the power to direct the management and policies of the trust with respect to the NFA items — which typically includes all co-trustees and, in some trust structures, certain beneficiaries.

Properly identifying and documenting responsible persons is one of the most important drafting considerations in a gun trust. An improperly drafted trust can create compliance problems at the time of transfer or at death.

For a full explanation: What is ATF Rule 41F and who counts as a responsible person?

Individual NFA ownership is simpler at the point of acquisition — only one set of fingerprints and photographs is required. But individual ownership creates legal exposure that a trust eliminates:

Without a gun trust, NFA items owned individually become part of your probate estate at death. Your executor or personal representative must identify and secure the items, determine whether each beneficiary can legally receive them, and navigate the ATF transfer process — often without any guidance from you.

The risk is not hypothetical. A personal representative who transfers an NFA item to a prohibited person — even unknowingly, even as part of a good-faith estate administration — can face federal criminal liability. A surviving spouse who takes possession of a suppressor registered to a deceased spouse, without completing the ATF transfer process, is in unlawful possession of an NFA item.

A gun trust eliminates this risk by providing explicit instructions, a named successor trustee who understands their obligations, and a structure that keeps every transfer within the bounds of federal law.

What happens to my firearms when I die without a gun trust?

A gun trust works alongside — not instead of — your broader estate plan. Your revocable living trust handles real estate, financial accounts, and general personal property. Your gun trust holds firearms and NFA items under a structure that complies with federal firearms law. Both trusts are coordinated so your entire estate passes to your intended beneficiaries without probate, without gaps, and without inadvertently transferring a firearm to someone who cannot legally receive it.

At Stewart Law, gun trust drafting is integrated into the estate planning process — not treated as a standalone transaction. We review your existing estate plan (or help you build one from scratch), identify every firearm in your collection, and draft a gun trust that fits cleanly within your overall succession structure.