Pistol transfer from deceased parent

2ndMDRebel · May 3, 2015

My brother in law passed suddenly 6 weeks ago. According to my sister, he has left behind a .45 and a .38 that she wants to pass on to his biological son (her stepson). The son is over 21 and no criminal record but does not have a HQL. Can she transfer the firearms to him through the MSP or does he need to acquire the HQL first? She does not know how long ago the guns were purchased, has to be over 8 years because that is how long they have been married.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

w2kbr · May 3, 2015

Interesting question.......Best I can do..contact the MSP, Firearms Registration Division.

It could be a rather sticky situation, assume no will is in play, neither wife nor son has HQL,

No telling what MSP will say, maybe even confiscation????.......maybe Firearms Lawyer would be better.....

Sorry for your loss

R

jmiller320 · May 3, 2015

Don't ask, don't tell.

SneakySh0rty · May 3, 2015

From another thread:

ddeanjohnson said:
This is erroneous, according to the Maryland State Police. I inquired about inheritance of handguns earlier this month, and this is the answer that I received, paraphrased, from MSP Lt. John Cook, commander of the Licensing Section: Handguns may be passed on by inheritance to Maryland residents who do not possess a Handgun Qualification License (HQL). This is because Public Safety Article Title 5 (Firearms), Subtitle 1 (the subtitle containing the laws on regulated firearms), contains a provision that specifies that Subtitle 1 "does not apply" to certain things, one of these being "(8) the receipt of a regulated firearm by inheritance, if the heir forwards to the Secretary a completed application to purchase or transfer that regulated firearm. . ." This is not new language from SB 281, but longstanding law. Lt. Cook wrote: "Because inheritance is generally exempted from the Subtitle 1, it is exempted from the HQL requirement." (Source: Email, Sept. 16, 2013)

JPG · May 3, 2015

jmiller320 said:
Don't ask, don't tell.

Pinecone · May 4, 2015

jmiller320 said:
Don't ask, don't tell.

Nothing like telling people to break the law.

Pinecone · May 4, 2015

The problem is, if there is a will giving him the pistols, he is inheriting.

If there is no will, you will need to talk to an attorney, because the wife may inherit, then SHE would be transferring the pistols to him, not the estate.

Different deals, different rules.

And since it is unlikely that the step son was over 21 prior to Oct 1996, any off the books transfer would be illegal and could end up with both the wife and step son with criminal records, and unable to own firearms for the rest of their life. And the firearms confiscated.

Inheritance transfer is free. I don't remember about family transfer, but IIRC, no 7 day wait, you just file the paperwork.

swinokur · May 4, 2015

Pinecone said:
Nothing like telling people to break the law.

^^^^

THIS

2ndMDRebel · May 5, 2015

Thank you all for the replies. I messaged the local State Police barracks through their general contact email address yesterday. This morning they emailed me back and advised that he, the son, go to the local barracks and complete the paperwork to transfer the firearms into his name as an inheritance.

Now for a quick PSA, please, please get a will. My sister is going through hell right now as he had everything in his name and she is caught in a legal and financial mess. This has been a wake-up call for my wife and I, just want to pass that on.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. XXXXXXX,

The son would need to go to his local State Police Barrack and complete the paperwork to transfer the weapons into his name as an inheritance.

On Mon, May 4, 2015 at 7:57 AM, <XXXXXXXXXXXXX@verizon.net> wrote:

My brother-in-law passed suddenly without leaving a will. He had two pistols that my sister would like to give to his biological son (her stepson). His son does not have an HQL but otherwise meets the requirements for firearm ownership (over 21, no record, etc). She has turned to me as I am the family "gun guy" and I do not want to see the law broken in any way, shape, or form. Please advise on the steps that need to be taken in order to do this in a fully compliant legal manner.

Thank you for your attention to this matter and thank you for keeping our communities safe.

Tom XXXXXXX

BigDaddy · May 5, 2015

2ndMDRebel said:
Now for a quick PSA, please, please get a will. My sister is going through hell right now as he had everything in his name and she is caught in a legal and financial mess. This has been a wake-up call for my wife and I, just want to pass that on.

That's probably the most important sentence on Maryland Shooter right now.
My father did almost the same thing. He had a will but no estate planning. In the 70's the federal estate tax was worse and there was no marital deduction. He was a joint owner of my savings account. Everything got taxed.

5.56blaster · May 5, 2015

Pinecone said:
Nothing like telling people to break the law.

Really? The government needs to know everything? This a a family matter. I sure hope that when I croak that my family just gives my stuff to the people I want to have my stuff and leaves the government out of it. If you want to F%*k something up get the government involved. Lots of firearms get passed to the next generation without telling the informing the authorities. Sounds almost communist. Make sure the government knows what your up to, keep them informed, let them know what the people around you are up to. Starting to sound like your being controlled by the people we put in office and should be controlled by us!

esqappellate · May 5, 2015

Pinecone said:
The problem is, if there is a will giving him the pistols, he is inheriting.

If there is no will, you will need to talk to an attorney, because the wife may inherit, then SHE would be transferring the pistols to him, not the estate.

Different deals, different rules.

And since it is unlikely that the step son was over 21 prior to Oct 1996, any off the books transfer would be illegal and could end up with both the wife and step son with criminal records, and unable to own firearms for the rest of their life. And the firearms confiscated.

Inheritance transfer is free. I don't remember about family transfer, but IIRC, no 7 day wait, you just file the paperwork.

THIS ^^ A lot depends on the terms of the will and the discretion accorded the Personal Representative (or Executor) of the will.

As to wills, there is nothing more important than having a will when you die if you wish to save your family from a lot of grief. Get one!!

swinokur · May 5, 2015

5.56blaster said:
Really? The government needs to know everything? This a a family matter. I sure hope that when I croak that my family just gives my stuff to the people I want to have my stuff and leaves the government out of it. If you want to F%*k something up get the government involved. Lots of firearms get passed to the next generation without telling the informing the authorities. Sounds almost communist. Make sure the government knows what your up to, keep them informed, let them know what the people around you are up to. Starting to sound like your being controlled by the people we put in office and should be controlled by us!

Regardless, it's still the law. When a person dies, their estate goes into probate. Wait, it's a family matter, what business is it to the government? Sadly, it is, just like firearms inheritance.

yeah it does make sense if you are a law abiding citizen. Law abiding citizens don't pick and choose what laws to obey.

That's hypocrisy, especially for those of us trying to abide by the law.

Pinecone · May 5, 2015

Also forum policy to not encourage or suggest illegal activities.

swinokur · May 5, 2015

5.56blaster · May 5, 2015

swinokur said:
Regardless, it's still the law. When a person dies, their estate goes into probate. Wait, it's a family matter, what business is it to the government? Sadly, it is, just like firearms inheritance.

yeah it does make sense if you are a law abiding citizen. Law abiding citizens don't pick and choose what laws to obey.

That's hypocrisy, especially for those of us trying to abide by the law.

Law abiding citizen? I was a cop for 26 years. I laugh. In one post its get the government off our backs we know what's best for us and in the next it's lets run to the government. That's why Maryland is the way it is. Sheep like to be in a flock.

Blacksmith101 · May 5, 2015

If you just hand over a gun to the next generation with no paperwork you could be setting the recipient up for some real headaches if they ever have to prove they legally acquired the gun. An example might involve proving someone legally possessed a now banned "assault" rifle prior to October 1st, 2013. If they were under age at that time they could not legally own it however they could legally inherit said fire arm at some time in the future by filling out the paperwork. Might make the difference in gun confiscation and/or costly legal battles.

swinokur · May 5, 2015

Why be a sheep and follow the law?

:sarcasm:

Pinecone · May 7, 2015

5.56blaster said:
Law abiding citizen? I was a cop for 26 years.

And what does the first have to do with the second?

Or are you saying that ALL cops follow the law ALL the time?

Yeah right.

44 Bulldog · May 7, 2015

BigDaddy said:
That's probably the most important sentence on Maryland Shooter right now.
My father did almost the same thing. He had a will but no estate planning. In the 70's the federal estate tax was worse and there was no marital deduction. He was a joint owner of my savings account. Everything got taxed.

my wife and I have other family members names on all our bank accounts, savings..... anything without a beneficiary, we both work in DC so in case something should happen to both of us our family members know to go to the bank and withdrawl all the money without the state of Md. knowing.

Pistol transfer from deceased parent

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