inherited firearm (sort of) long story

**peanut2012** · September 1st, 2012, 02:32 AM

Hi, new here and looking for advise. So in order to make this as brief as possible. My sister died unexpectedly in May. She lived in pa and had left her (we believe) deceased mother in laws hand gun in her home. The executor of her will (her best friend from massachusetts) asked me to remove firearms (nys resident concealed carry permit) and make them safe. As I am only familiar w/ny rules and only licensed there. I call local pd and explained the situation and was told that they don't accept deceased firearm turn in.

Um ok so unloaded rifle and handgun and removed them from property to safe location (as house would be unoccupied until sale) with fiancé (pa & nys permit holder)
how do i get handgun back to ny? can a pa dealer accept and mail gun to ny?

**tl_3237** · September 1st, 2012, 11:46 AM

Originally Posted by peanut2012

Hi, new here and looking for advise. So in order to make this as brief as possible. My sister died unexpectedly in May. She lived in pa and had left her (we believe) deceased mother in laws hand gun in her home. The executor of her will (her best friend from massachusetts) asked me to remove firearms (nys resident concealed carry permit) and make them safe. As I am only familiar w/ny rules and only licensed there. I call local pd and explained the situation and was told that they don't accept deceased firearm turn in.

Um ok so unloaded rifle and handgun and removed them from property to safe location (as house would be unoccupied until sale) with fiancé (pa & nys permit holder)
how do i get handgun back to ny? can a pa dealer accept and mail gun to ny?

Unless you are the beneficiary of the firearms and receive them through the estate distribution you cannot transport/receive them interstate unless they are transferred through an FFL (longarms through any FFL, handguns - FFL recipient's state) under Federal law. The executor has a fiduciary duty to retain control of and protect all estate assets - whether a 'non-ownership' transfer is possible or breaches that duty is unclear to me.

Unless a beneficiary wants the firearms it would be better for the executor to legally sell them to a private party or place them on consignment with a local shop with the proceeds becoming an estate asset.

**peanut2012** · September 1st, 2012, 12:32 PM

Originally Posted by tl_3237

Unless you are the beneficiary of the firearms and receive them through the estate distribution you cannot transport/receive them interstate unless they are transferred through an FFL (longarms through any FFL, handguns - FFL recipient's state) under Federal law. The executor has a fiduciary duty to retain control of and protect all estate assets - whether a 'non-ownership' transfer is possible or breaches that duty is unclear to me.

Unless a beneficiary wants the firearms it would be better for the executor to legally sell them to a private party or place them on consignment with a local shop with the proceeds becoming an estate asset.

Forgive my ignorance but what is FFL?
How would I find one?
What paperwork is required?

**Sharkey** · September 1st, 2012, 12:51 PM

FFL ..... federal firearms license ...... AKA Gun shop or a private party holder of a FFL ...... They would supply all needed paper work

**tl_3237** · September 1st, 2012, 12:54 PM

Originally Posted by peanut2012

Forgive my ignorance but what is FFL?
How would I find one?
What paperwork is required?

FFL = Federal Firearms Licensee.

Although there are many classes of FFLs, for most of us these are the local retail gun shops.

They are readily found in the yellow pages, with Internet searches (try Google - 'locality' & 'firearms'), etc

Paperwork varies by state and whether you are selling/shipping or buying/receiving. FFLs are private businesses so the proprietor decides what if anything he would require, beyond that required by Federal and state laws, to engage in a particular transaction.

I would suggest that you speak with a few local to where the firearms are stored. It's unclear which type of transaction is being attempted - estate sale, estate transfer, etc.

**GunLawyer001** · September 1st, 2012, 02:01 PM

You have to abide by the laws of every relevant jurisdiction.

Pennsylvania controls "transfers" and "carrying concealed or in a vehicle", but is less concerned about "possession".

The executor from Massachusetts would be allowed to possess the gun while in Pennsylvania, because she steps into the shoes of the owner.

A buyer (the estate can sell to a buyer) should probably be in Pennsylvania, and accept transfer through a local gun shop. Gun shops are listed in the phone book or any of the online directories by ZIP code or city.

The procedure to for the estate to sell to a buyer would be for the executor to take the unloaded gun directly to a gun shop and either sell it to the gun shop (most handguns are worth $75 to $1,000), or list it here on consignment, or if you have a buyer lined up, meet them there and the gun shop will handle the details,

To go to an heir, it's a lot less complicated, in theory. A Massachusetts executor will not believe me, though.

I am a little concerned about the decedent possessing her mother-in-law's gun, because that opens up some questions about who the actual owner was, and whether an unlawful transfer may have occurred.

**peanut2012** · September 2nd, 2012, 05:14 AM

Originally Posted by GunLawyer001

You have to abide by the laws of every relevant jurisdiction.

Pennsylvania controls "transfers" and "carrying concealed or in a vehicle", but is less concerned about "possession".

The executor from Massachusetts would be allowed to possess the gun while in Pennsylvania, because she steps into the shoes of the owner.

A buyer (the estate can sell to a buyer) should probably be in Pennsylvania, and accept transfer through a local gun shop. Gun shops are listed in the phone book or any of the online directories by ZIP code or city.

The procedure to for the estate to sell to a buyer would be for the executor to take the unloaded gun directly to a gun shop and either sell it to the gun shop (most handguns are worth $75 to $1,000), or list it here on consignment, or if you have a buyer lined up, meet them there and the gun shop will handle the details,

To go to an heir, it's a lot less complicated, in theory. A Massachusetts executor will not believe me, though.

I am a little concerned about the decedent possessing her mother-in-law's gun, because that opens up some questions about who the actual owner was, and whether an unlawful transfer may have occurred.

Exactly my fear, not sure if gun was ever "officially" transferred to Michael after his mothers death and then transferred to "Eileen" upon Michael's death.
Here in new york you have 15 days to re register inherited gun on to valid permit. Not sure if Pa has those kind of laws.

Executor wants nothing to do with the guns and asked me to get/ remove them as they make her "uncomfortable".

**FJRMarty** · September 3rd, 2012, 11:49 AM

IANAL!

I am not clear as to who has what or where they are. My thoughts are that since several transfer / ownership rules have apparently been broken, and you cannot go back and do it all correctly again, it seems the expedient thing to do is get the gun(s) to an appropriate FFL to establish some legal ownership through a legal transfer. If the OP wants to take possession of the gun(s) and the gun(s) are already in NY then take them to a FFL there and explain the trail of ownership. Then follow the NY state rules and get the gun(s) listed on your NY permit and transferred to you.

If the guns are in PA take them to a FFL in PA and have the gun(s) shipped to an FFL of choice in NY state. Then follow the NY state rules.

Few years ago I had a bit of a similar situation; after explaining the erroneous ownership trail to the FFL they did the proper paperwork and transfer to me.