Taseal wrote:
eracer wrote:
For me, the money I paid a lawyer to write my trust is an investment. If in the future the ATF questions anything I can give them his phone number and let him deal with it.
YMMV.
I hear ya. but if done right by yourself it's money saved. Everything is so automated these days, they probably use the same program we would use
it's like taxes. I guess if you are fishy and afraid you might be audited, best to get an accountant do it.
I do my own taxes because I don't do anything that would raise an eyebrow, and if they do, I've used an application that automates the process like most other people.
I might take my chances with the quicken willmaker, It's a fully legal way of doing it.
The differences is that if you mess up your taxes then you pay some fines and past due taxes. If you end up with an invalid trust (which the ATF is supposed to verify before approving your stamp) or some other mess up and are in possession of an NFA item then the consequences are thousands of dollars in fines and years in prison.
I bought Quicken Willmaker and made the trust myself but I read through it and I just didn't feel satisfied with the results. Additionally, I wanted to include my wife and father on the trust. I also have kids so I needed to make sure there were provisions for them not being able to inherit the items until they are legally allowed to own them, etc.
The folks at TexasLawShield.com put together my trust in a day and helped me to make sure I had everything in order for my applications, my trust, and any other concerns I had. Like you, I had a hard time paying the money for it, but I'm glad that I went ahead with the trust service.
Again, you will probably be fine doing it with Willmaker, but I just wanted to share my experience if it helps at all.