NFA Trust # of Co-Trustees: 9 too many?

[TXAZ]

After reading some of the other trust related posts here, I'm a little confused:
I just got the trust paperwork today. There currently are 9 family members on the trust, easy to change.
Question is, do I really want that many on it? Not sure with 41F coming.

If I send it in in the next week with all the signatures, then go to the LGS and order the 2 suppressors I'm looking at, what's the advantage or disadvantages? It seems like everytime I add another 'toy' after July 1, I'll have to go back and get fingerprints and pictures?

Is this correct? Any directions or suggestions appreciated.

 

[Theohazard]

I just got the trust paperwork today. There currently are 9 family members on the trust, easy to change.
Question is, do I really want that many on it? Not sure with 41F coming.

It depends. Do you need all those 9 family members to be able to possess those silencers without you around? If not, there's not a pressing reason to have them on the trust.

On the other hand, how difficult will it be to get fingerprints and passport photos from each of those 9 people every time you want to buy a new NFA item?

It's all a balance between how much you need those people to be on your trust vs. how difficult it will be to get their fingerprints and photos each time you add an NFA item to the trust.

If I send it in in the next week with all the signatures, then go to the LGS and order the 2 suppressors I'm looking at, what's the advantage or disadvantages?

I'm not sure I understand this part. Send what to who? The trust to the ATF? A copy of your trust is sent to the ATF along with two completed Form 4s for the specific NFA item you're buying at that time; there's no reason to send anything to the ATF before that.

It seems like everytime I add another 'toy' after July 1, I'll have to go back and get fingerprints and pictures?

The date is actually July 13th; any forms postmarked on or before that date won't have to go by the new rules.

And there's a bit of controversy about how often the fingerprints and photos need to be submitted. The text of 41F seems to say that every time you submit paperwork for an NFA item after July 13th you need to submit fingerprints and photos for every "responsible person" on the trust, and then you can add as many NFA items to the trust as you want during the next two years without submitting any new fingerprints and photographs (provided the trust stays the same). But apparently some discussions with the ATF have indicated that they interpret 41F to say that fingerprints and photos must be submitted every time.

 

[MagnumWill]

From meeting with a firearms lawyer to set up my trust a few weeks ago, I believe the new requirement will require your trustees/beneficiaries to provide fingerprints and a picture that is valid for 2 years. So once everyone's up to date, you no longer need them to re-do anything for 23 months and 29 days. It's not every time you decide to add an asset.

 

[Theohazard]

From meeting with a firearms lawyer to set up my trust a few weeks ago, I believe the new requirement will require your trustees/beneficiaries to provide fingerprints and a picture that is valid for 2 years. So once everyone's up to date, you no longer need them to re-do anything for 23 months and 29 days. It's not every time you decide to add an asset.

I don't mean to sound harsh, but it doesn't matter what you or your lawyer believe. The ATF has already gone on record as saying that everyone on a trust needs to provide fingerprints and photos every time you decide to add an NFA item.

http://rkmerting.com/atf-41f-and-the-two-year-window/

Logic however is not inherent in the rule making process. In a conversation with the ATF reported by Silencer Shop, the exception in subsection (c) is interpreted as only applying to the documentation required by subsection (b)(2)(i) – documentation evidencing the existence of the trust. The new Form 23, and the fingerprints and photographs required to accompany it, are allegedly required with every application.

This new interpretation is contrary to the plain text of the rule and negates the most beneficial aspects of the two-year window. It also goes against the understanding commonly held by the firearms law community during the review of the proposed rule.

Now, the ATF might change their mind on this, but if they decide to follow through and require fingerprints and photos every time, there's nothing anyone can do short of taking them to court and winning. Either way, it's premature to claim that the two-year window exists for sure because it's definitely not certain yet.