New Jersey, again

[Bucksnort1]

A neighbor, who is from NJ, told me firearms cannot be willed to a family member or, I guess, to anyone for that matter. If this happens, the firearms must be destroyed. He said his father will sell him his guns for $1. I did some research on this and found nothing.

Anyone have anything to add?

 

[armoredman]

Sounds like something Jersey would do.

 

[Tom Servo]

I've never heard of that, nor can I find any reference in the statutes beyond the requirement that the recipient have a Firearms Purchaser Identification Card.

 

[P5 Guy]

I'd imagine the recipient would need to go thru the NJ qualification process and have a gun permit. Especially for handguns or EBRs

 

[44 AMP]

A neighbor, who is from NJ, told me...

Is the neighbor a (former?) NJ lawyer??? Is there anything, other than being from there that qualifies him to actually know what he is talking about??

The amount of misinformation that "everyone knows" is huge, and to be honest, just being from someplace doesn't mean squat.

I won't claim to know the exact NJ law. For that, you should seek out a NJ firearms LAWYER. However, in general the subject has come up before and has been discussed.

The general point is firearms being willed to someone whom the state says cannot have them. One case discussed was guns willed to a prohibited person. The same principle would apply to someone who does not meet state requirements for ownership (no FOID, etc).

What is generally done in that kind of case is that the firearms are held in trust, by the estate, until the prohibited person can legally possess them. The inheritor, if not legal to posess, can have them sold, or can give them away, through the executor of the estate, or they can even be held in trust for a future (legal) heir of the prohibited person.

I'm not a lawyer, but I have heard these things discussed. Naturally the specific situation and location determine what options are available.

 

[unclenunzie]

Something which may be helpful is this NJ State police FAQ which addresses inheritance. Obviously an attorney familiar with NJ firearms law would be the best idea, but at least this can give a person a reasonable place to start building questions.

http://www.njsp.org/firearms/firearms-faqs.shtml

I would also point out that unlike IL, NJ does not have a firearm ownership ID. It is a purchasers ID, and is used to purchase long guns that meet NJ legality requierments, and ammo. For handguns, the identical set of forms and investigations process produces "permit to purchase handgun", in any quantity you like ($2 each). But they can be used only once in any 30 day period and they are good for 90 days. Thus the PTP handgun is in practical terms limited to 4 per application process.

The Firearms Purchaser ID card does not expire, and locals are always advised to apply for both the ID and any PTP at the same time, as it is the same form, with a checkmark choice.

 

[4EVERM-14]

As stated above, only an attorney well versed in firearms law can adequately answer . It can be interesting to note,however, that a judge once stated that people in N.J. possess firearms at their own peril. The biggest problem is that most LEO's are not thoroughly familiar in firearms law. Some just prefer to arrest and let the judge decide.

I to escape the Peoples Republic of N.J.

 

[Tuzo]

NJ experience

My brother passed away a couple of years ago, NJ resident, collected firearms, and willed them to me. His collection was kept by the local police department in temporary storage until I retrieved them. Only requirement was presenting letters testamentary and identification.

Drove home to Louisiana with the firearms and, naturally, avoided Washington, D.C. Simple as that.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

Federal law provides that firearms that are inherited as a specific bequest (meaning the will has to say something like, "I leave my guns to my good friend, John Doe" and NOT just an ambiguous distribution such as, "I leave everything to John Doe, Bubba Bigshot, and Connie Cornhusker") may be transferred across state lines by the executor without any need for an FFL on either end. I don't know how that works in the decedent and the heir are both within the state of New Jersey.