My father was going to leave me two firearms, however, he has dementia. He is in FL, I live in AZ, and the firearms are in CA. How do I legally take possession of these firearms? He obviously is not capable of making a legal decision .
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Welcome to the community, John1651, weâre glad that youâve joined us!
Unfortunately, I donât have an answer to your question other than what would be my best guess so hopefully someone more familiar with your inquiry will be along to provide guidance.
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Welcome aboard, great question.
When you specifically asked âhow legallyâ well, thatâs when all bets were off for my advice! I guess legal find all the proper âwills and paperworkâ, I guess who has actual possession in California? Thatâs a biggy!
Iâm actually working on getting my affairs in order to do the same and leave my prized 1911 to my son, and all my other firearms ( which of course have been lost at sea ) to all the other grandsons and daughters.
Had you not asked about the legal aspects.
Sneak through the southern border, recon the location, steal the items, claim asylum, take the first bus back to Arizona! A few years ago this would not be possible, today, well look at the world around us! Seems plausible!
But seriously I think we need to know who has legal possession, now.
Iâm fairly sure, they can be shipped to your local FFL. In my case my mom turned all my dadâs guns over to the local sheriff, before I could say Caesars Palace! So Iâm making sure mine get to the designated person!
Sorry to hear about your dad!
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Anyone can ship the firearms for you from CA to a FFL near you in AZ and then you just legally take possession of them. You donât even need an FFl to ship in CA.
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BTW it is also perfectly legal to ship firearms to yourself as long as no one else but you takes possession when they arrive to your destination.
Personally Iâd go to CA, box them up and get a label from UPS online addressed to yourself in AZ, drop them off at an UPS store in CA ( they just scan the box and put in the truck) and make sure youâre home to receive them.
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A slight addition to that, ship Next day air or 2nd day air, with adult signature required!
If Iâm right I donât think you can drop it off, it needs to be a scheduled pickup!
More research is required on my part!
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FFL to FFL handguns need to be NDA or 2nd Day Air. A private shipment to yourself is just that. The higher level priced services do give you better peace of mind. And if you declared value is over $1,000 you need to have a form signed by the receiver at the store or UPS location. I have never been asked what Iâm shipping and I donât volunteer info.
In description of items shipped I say âsporting equipmentâ in the online form and drop off the package ready to scan.
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I have sent a rifle to my brother from an FFL near me to an FFL across the country near him. I paid for shipping insurance at 2% of the value of the rifle. That is my experience, if that is any help at all.
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You could have wrapped it up, included a copy of your ID and instructions in the box and shipped it yourself. Totally legal and itâs also legal for the FFL to accept shipments from private parties. Some donât, but thatâs just personally douchery and I just cross them off the list of folks I do business with.
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Curious, cuz i dont live in the SW but why cant you just drive there and pick them up? Put them in a lock box for the journey home? I also dont know AZ laws but it cant be worse than mi. Easy for me here to get my moms pistols in my name without a death certificate.
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Enzo_T knows what he is talking about, try what he said.
Also: Check with UPS / a FFL or Ai search engine like Bingâs Copilot, that usually drills down to what you want quickly.
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Hi Joel106. That was and still is my first thought as well.
Although I can appreciate having FFL receipts, and keeping a paper trail, in that if any authority ever questioned ownership then you got it, and that must offer more peace of mind and definitely worth it.
On the other hand, if you lock it up, unloaded, transport it in your car, from CA to AZ, as long as in AZ one can legally possess a firearm, then you can. As a contingency.
But to actually also legally own it, then yes, go through proper channels of course.
Always keep safe, records of the firearms, photographs of it, serial numbers, and documents supporting your relationship with the father/previous owner and any type of certificates. Maybe even only the most trusted persons - I wonder it would help letting them see the firearm in your possession, and make note of the dates in case they ever need to vouch for you.
IDK. Just thinking out loud. I had too much coffee today.
Blessings to your father and family John1651.
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This is tongue in cheek but also dead serious. Guns in CA, took guns on a deep sea fishing trip to protect from sharks, damn, they went overboard. What are the odds? Now, how old are the guns? Are they old enough to not be on anyoneâs radar? If the answer is yes, keep it that way. You do what you feels is right. But if the SHTF itâd be nice to have an insurance policy âburied out of sightâ. All depends on how detailed the âinheritanceâ is. But if you research the laws of your going to, if they donât require registration, need I say more?
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they are registered to my father, I am not worried about AZ law, it is California that I am wondering about.
They are a pair of pistols that were legally purchased from an FFL after 1990, so full California laws apply.
Thanks for the replies so far, but I really need to know the laws before I transport them across state lines.
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All Good stuff again folkâs!
Welcome Brother John to the Fold,
As for what you need to do the Guyâs here have given you enough to figure it out, Good Luck, God Speed getting those firearms home. Sorry, condolences about your Father. I have a different take on Dementia, as a favorite Uncle (WW2 Normandy Paratrooper 101st) had that and his Doctor gave an interesting take on it. He said My Uncle was taking his mental baggage HOME a little piece at a time, ALL DECISIONS should be made BEFORE he completes his journey. Well, we werenât included in those plans as the Son and Daughter (sh!theads felt we would horn in on his Firearms). Axxhats, He had âwilled to meâ a Thompson Boomstick and his .gov .45 as his Son was a weenie and âdidnât like gunsâ and his daughter was a POS Demoncrat but they LOVED M$ney! sol they sold them and I lost the only remembrances of my Favorite Uncle.
GET YOUR DADDYâS GUNS HOME BROTHER.
Secondly, To ALL GUNNERâS. When âall thisâ started getting really weird I got my AFFAIRâS in order Just in Case. I got the âBag and Tagâ me in place so all My Sister needs is phone the undertaker to haul my carcass away. No need for an Urn, Mahogany box, nothing, My firearms are catalogued and approx. value and my LGS was told of my final wishes so all she has to do is drop them off and pick-up the CASH.
They see them frequently so they know their value.
NO DNR
Donate my clothes
Sell my Stan Lee/ Movie Autographs
etc etc.
Peace of mind is at hand.
I suggest we all get as much done as possible so âUncle Sugarâ doesnât get his hands of our Loot.
My 'Financial advisor also suggested I put my share of the House in my Sisterâs name (and Visa Versa)
all accounts are already dual co-signed so they canât hit us with the marvelous âDeath Taxesâ Bestards try to get you even when your dead.
Leave the .gov NOTHING!
If you have a Firearm you want to leave to a family member do it BEFORE YOU DIE!
My Opinion Only
The Boundaries have changed, Theyâve moved the Goal postsâŠWe should do the same.
I AM NOT A LAWYER, Thank God, I have enough problems. 
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IMO
The safest choice is FFL to FFL. Contact a shipper FFL and a receiver FFL.
An FFLâs should know all the Federal and Local laws!
Why cut corners?
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Welcome John1651. We are glad you found us.
My first question is concerning who currently has the weapons. Do you trust that/those person/persons? Are they sympathetic to your cause? Will they make the effort to pack the weapons up for shipment? If you showed up to their door, would they deliver the weapons into your hands?
All the advice offered by other forum members is very sound advice. Shipping FFL to FFL is by far the safest way to do it. The person in possession would take them to an FFL in their area and they would be sent to the FFL in your area. When you pick the weapons up, you prove your identity, pay the shipping/transfer fee and off you go with Dadâs heirlooms.
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âMachined partsâ is also an accurate description.
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