In the course of my law practice, I have reviewed most of the “do-it-yourself” gun trusts out there. Frankly, I am astonished by the poor quality of most of the gun trusts being marketed online as a “great do-it-yourself option.” Many of these so-called “NFA gun trusts” do not even mention the words “gun,” “firearm,” “NFA,” “GCA,” or anything else that would even remotely indicate that the document is supposedly a “gun trust.” Additionally, most of the “do-it-yourself gun trusts” that I have seen have errors or provisions that render them invalid, partially invalid, or allow people to think they have been appointed as a trustee when they have not been appointed in accordance with the law.

If you have purchased one of these “do-it-yourself” trusts, the best solution is to call me. If you have not signed the document, then it can be discarded. If you have signed the document, and more importantly, if you have purchased NFA firearms with that trust, I can create an Amendment and Restatement of your trust. The amended and restated trust will be the gun trust that I draft with the correct legal terms and provisions, and you will be able to appoint trustees in accordance with the law.

I also understand that a significant number of NFA firearm purchasers do not have a lawyer to assist them in their state, or simply insist on purchasing a “do-it-yourself” gun trust. So if you are a “do-it-yourselfer,” this post is for you. If you already understand the difference between a settlor, a trustee, and beneficiary, and a successor trustee, I highly recommend that you check out the Gun Trust Guru online gun trust creation website located at www.guntrustguru.com. The Gun Trust Guru website provides a custom, state-specific gun trust drafted by me for $79.95. The Gun Trust Guru gun trust is valid in all 50 states. It is designed to incorporate the specific trust code provisions and other legal requirements of the state in which the settlor resides. After you enter your gun trust information and pay with your debit or credit card, your Gun Trust Guru gun trust will be created and emailed to you instantly.

I have prepared gun trusts for thousands of law-abiding gun owners, collectors, hunters, and competition shooters. I am also the attorney recommended by many of the largest and most successful Class 3 dealers in the United States. In fact, the Gun Trust Guru project was initiated after I was approached by a few reputable Class 3 dealers who wanted to know whether it was possible for me to modify my regular attorney-assisted gun trust so that they could provide their customers with the option of a “do-it-yourself” gun trust at a lower price, without sacrificing the high quality and many of the features of my regular attorney-assisted gun trust. After about three months of research and development effort, the Gun Trust Guru online gun trust was born.

Unlike almost every other “do-it-yourself” gun trust out there, the Gun Trust Guru gun trust is designed to hold any NFA and non-NFA firearm—just like my regular attorney-assisted gun trust. Also unlike almost every other “canned” gun trust out there, the Gun Trust Guru gun trust does not include a Schedule A, so you do not need to disclose an inventory of the firearms contained in your gun trust when you provide a copy of your gun trust to the Class 3 dealer or to the ATF—just like my regular attorney-assisted gun trust. When you provide a copy of your Gun Trust Guru gun trust to a third party, the only property that anyone can see in your Gun Trust Guru gun trust is $1.00—just like my regular attorney-assisted gun trust. Also unlike almost every other gun trust out there, “do-it-yourself” or otherwise, you can appoint one or more persons as Additional Co-Trustees of your Gun Trust Guru gun trust (so that they can use and possess your NFA firearms unsupervised) without amending the gun trust—just like my regular attorney-assisted gun trust.

Of course, by using the Gun Trust Guru website to create your own “do-it-yourself” gun trust, you will not receive any kind of legal advice, nor will you receive any kind of attorney-client relationship, and because of the online format, it does not have some of the custom features that I can provide clients who hire me to draft their gun trusts. However, if you are comfortable with that, the Gun Trust Guru website is the best “do-it-yourself” gun trust out there. If you are a “do-it-yourselfer,” I highly recommend that you check out the Gun Trust Guru online gun trust creation website located at www.guntrustguru.com.

After you sign two documents—the gun trust and the initial contribution form—in front of a notary public, you have created a valid gun trust in your state. Then you are ready to visit your Class 3 dealer to buy your first NFA firearm. The only document that the Class 3 dealer will need is a copy of the gun trust. Alternatively, if you want to convert an existing non-NFA firearm into a short-barreled rifle, you sign one more document—the assignment form, assigning the non-NFA firearm to the trust—in front of a notary public. After that, you are ready to file your ATF Form 1 manufacturing application. The only documents that the ATF will need is a copy of the gun trust and a copy of the assignment form.

Disclaimer: Gun Trust Guru is not owned or operated by Willi Law Firm, P.C. Gun Trust Guru is not a law firm. If you need legal advice, you are encouraged to consult with an attorney in your state. Gun Trust Guru and its legal forms are not substitutes for the advice or services of an attorney. The law is different from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be subject to interpretation by different courts. The information contained on the Gun Trust Guru website is not legal advice and is not guaranteed to be correct, complete, or up-to-date. The Gun Trust Guru website is not intended to create any attorney-client relationship, and your use of Gun Trust Guru’s online gun trust creation website does not and will not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Gun Trust Guru. Instead, you are and will be representing yourself in any legal matter that may arise in the future as a result of your use of Gun Trust Guru’s “do-it-yourself” legal forms.