If someone offers to perform even a simple medical procedure on you, without a medical education or the proper licenses, he will be committing a crime. It doesn’t matter if you waive his liability, or whether he provides a disclaimer. It’s a crime.

Similarly a gun dealer, a buddy, or an anonymous internet poster who provides a trust to you–even giving you a sample to copy or a form to complete yourself–is committing the crime of practicing law without a license. Unfortunately this is a common problem in the area of NFA gun trusts.

There are many reasons it is a crime to practice law without a license, such as:

• A person with no legal education has no basis on which to give you a competent or expert opinion on any legal matter.
• If they provide you a flawed or invalid solution, you have no recourse. The culprit has no law license to lose or professional discipline to face. Further, his own liability insurance will not cover criminal acts, so there may be little or no compensation for any damages you suffer by relying on this person’s advice–even if it’s just a blank form he implied was dependable. A lawyer who provides you bad service can face punishment and loss of his license, and his malpractice insurance could compensate you for any damages he has caused you to suffer.
• Someone offering a gun trust like a gun dealer has a conflict of interest. He is motivated by his desire to sell you a gun or silencer. He wants you to believe the transaction can be quick and simple so you are more likely to make the purchase. The gun dealer doesn’t want you to delay your purchase to research the issues. He will hustle you into using his quickie form without further thought about the long term implications for you and your loved ones. On the other hand, your lawyer has a duty of loyalty to you and no one else. It is your lawyer’s job to provide you protective and cautionary advice that no one else is willing to tell you. There are many ways this duty of loyalty could be undermined by a possible conflict of interest. For example, a gun shop could try to influence your choice of lawyer. We’ve seen this happen when a gun dealer has insisted on choosing the lawyer their customer uses for a trust. We’ve also seen a gun shop steer their customers to a lawyer married to one of their employees. We cannot stress enough the importance of detecting possible conflicts of interest on the part of those offering you legal advice.
• A gun dealer is or should be aware practicing law without a license, including blank gun trust forms, is a crime. If they do so, you must wonder what other laws they are breaking. Only patronize a gun dealer who obeys the law. Otherwise how can you assume your gun purchase is truly done in a lawful manner? The same gun dealers who improperly provide advice on trusts often are the same gun dealers involved in other legal problems concerning sales of Class 3 / NFA firearms. We do not know why they endanger their customers and their own businesses so recklessly.
• Finally, gun dealers, anonymous internet sources, and other laymen typically offer bad trusts for gun ownership. Many clients ask us to replace flawed trusts provided by gun dealers or prepared using Quicken WillMaker. These trusts consistently lack even basic protections crucial for you and your loved ones for the handling of firearms. Considering the points raised above, these trusts are poor quality because either the person who provided it doesn’t know any better, or he has no interest in your obtaining good legal advice elsewhere.

So be careful and help solve this problem. Many gun owners value their relationship with their gun dealer. Their gun dealer could be unaware an employee is unlawfully providing legal advice. Advise them of any problems you observe. If your gun dealer dismisses any concerns you express about practicing law without a license, you’ll know to find a new gun dealer.

Arsenal Attorneys serve gun owners only, and the Arsenal Gun Trust is our sole focus. Each client receives a personal consultation from one of our own in-house lawyers. No middle man is involved. We take as much time as is needed to help our clients make informed decisions. We provide you our own original solution prepared for you personally. We aren’t selling you someone else’s form to complete on your own. Our solutions are guided by our commitment to protect gun owners’ rights, privacy, and safety. We only serve clients where we are licensed to practice law, including: Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Texas, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado.

The Arsenal Attorneys will be exhibiting at the Richmond gun show this weekend at the showplace. Come learn about the Arsenal Gun Trust and how it protects you and your family.

Unlike generic, do-it-yourself trusts, our specialized NFA gun trust provides detailed guidance to help you and your loved ones obey gun laws, protect your privacy, and ensure gun safety in the handling and inheritance of your firearms.

Each Arsenal Gun Trust is prepared for each client’s personal circumstances based on a personal consultation. Learn more at Arsenal Attorneys.

Our Virginia-based firm has in-house attorneys licensed in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Texas and Georgia.

Arsenal Attorneys will be exhibiting at the Fredericksburg Gun Show this weekend. Come learn how the Arsenal Gun Trust can help you own NFA firearms safely and lawfully–no more fingerprinting, no more mug shots, no more CLEO signatures. Instead, our solution reduces your risks, and it protects your loved ones who will handle or inherit your firearms. The Arsenal Gun Trust also serves as an estate plan for your entire gun collection to help ensure your guns are inheriting safely, legally, and with privacy. If you’re considering adding a suppressor/silencer, short barreled rifle or shotgun, or machine gun to your gun collection, the convenience and protection offered by the Arsenal Gun Trust make it a life-long, low cost benefit for you and your family.

The Arsenal Attorneys are proud to announce our Arsenal Gun Trust is now available in Colorado. Our clients will receive a personal consultation by our lead attorney who focuses solely on NFA gun trusts, and our in-house, locally-licensed Colorado attorney will prepare a complete Arsenal Gun Trust document package drafted specifically for Colorado.

We use no middle man. We don’t market forms created by others. We prepare all the documents for you based on a personal consultation in which we analyze your personal situation.

The Arsenal Attorneys will be exhibiting at the Nation’s Gun Show this weekend, the Mid-Atlantic’s biggest gun show. We’ll be available to discuss the benefits of the Arsenal Gun Trust and how it can help you own Class 3 / NFA firearms and also create an estate plan for your entire gun collection. We’re ready to serve clients in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Utah and more.

The Arsenal Attorneys will return to Richmond to exhibit at this weekend’s gun show, May 19-20. We will be happy to answer your questions about the Arsenal Gun Trust, NFA firearms ownership, and BATFE paperwork to purchase and handle suppressors (silencers), short-barreled rifles and shotguns (SBR and SBS), and vintage machine guns.