Inheriting a pistol: question

[Glock Girl in CA]

Hi All,

I am on vacation in my and my husband's home states. His father died two years ago and left husband all his guns, which amounts to a small arsenal. We shot many of them together and loved them! There isn't a good way or a great need to bring these guns back to CA, but there is one little gun I can't leave behind...

I found a new (less than 20 rounds I'd bet) Glock 26 (gen 3) in the collection. Well, I have a gen 4 Glock 19 and I NEED that little 26 to go with her. Husband is indifferent to that pistol and is happy to give it to me.

I have read what I can on Calguns and I think I understand, but want to make sure i have it right exactly.

1. We can fly home with the gun (in TSA-approved style).
2. Fill out a form from DOJ when we arrive. Gun can be registered in my name, right? Husband is executor of will, if that matters.) That ends our responsibility to CA's legal requirements, right?

I know inheritance has been discussed before, but the prior threads go off on rabbit trails. I need to know exactly what to do, step by step. I hope that Librarian guy chimes in!

[morrcarr67]

You got right. Sorry for your lost.

[the_midwesterner]

Interested in this information also, since I am going back home to KS and will be trying to bring guns back.

[mrdd]

Interested in this information also, since I am going back home to KS and will be trying to bring guns back.

Remember, it matters how you acquire the item. In the OP's case, if it was left to the husband, it is his gun. He can bring it back to California and then can give it to the OP. She then fills out the oplaw form.

ETA: OP, this situation really has nothing to do with inheritance. Your husband has already inherited it. He would be acting as a personal handgun importer to bring it back to California. Then he gives it to you, which is a transfer between spouses.

[littlejake]

I'd wait for Librarian to chime in.
1) Can the husband take possession in state X? He is a CA resident. I'm not aware of any exemption for non resident transfer to an unlicensed person under the GCA 1968.
2) The personal handgun importer form is for new residents to file within 60 days of moving to CA.
I think a CA dealer might have to be in the loop to affect the transfer into CA.

[mydogsmonkey]

no dealer required for a transfer in the family. It must go parent to child, frandparent to child or vice versa of either. The handgun cannot go from OPs father in law directly to OP, must go to OPs husband first.

[mrdd]

I'd wait for Librarian to chime in.
1) Can the husband take possession in state X? He is a CA resident. I'm not aware of any exemption for non resident transfer to an unlicensed person under the GCA 1968.
2) The personal handgun importer form is for new residents to file within 60 days of moving to CA.
I think a CA dealer might have to be in the loop to affect the transfer into CA.

(a) It shall be unlawful -

(5) for any person (other than a licensed importer, licensed
manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector) to
transfer, sell, trade, give, transport, or deliver any firearm to
any person (other than a licensed importer, licensed
manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector) who the
transferor knows or has reasonable cause to believe does not
reside in (or if the person is a corporation or other business
entity, does not maintain a place of business in) the State in
which the transferor resides; except that this paragraph shall
not apply to (A) the transfer, transportation, or delivery of a
firearm made to carry out a bequest of a firearm to, or an
acquisition by intestate succession of a firearm by, a person who
is permitted to acquire or possess a firearm under the laws of
the State of his residence, and (B) the loan or rental of a
firearm to any person for temporary use for lawful sporting
purposes;

As far as California is concerned, a "personal handgun importer" is defined as:

There is no requirement that he be a new resident, only that he is a resident. In this case, he has 60 days to register it himself or dispose of it, which he can do by giving it to the OP. She has to file an OPLAW form to document the transfer from him to her.

PC 27560. (a) Within 60 days of bringing a handgun, and commencing January 1, 2014, any firearm, into this state, a personal firearm importer shall do one of the following:

(2) Sell or transfer the firearm in accordance with the provisions of Section 27545 or in accordance with the provisions of an exemption from Section 27545.

[littlejake]

Looks good to me. Thanks for looking it up. I didn't want the lady to get bad info.

Regards,

Jake

[Librarian]

The PHI stuff is for moving here with guns. Inheritance merely needs the OPLAW form, and then a second one to document the transfer from husband to wife.

The practical difference is $19 for all the handguns one inherits vs $19 for each one.

[mrdd]

I don't see anything in PC 17000 which says that PHI only applies when initially moving into the state.

ETA: The way I read it is that it applies any time a resident of California acquires a firearm outside the state and then imports it into the state. Most instances involves moving here, but there are other possibilities such as the situation of the OP.

[Glock Girl in CA]

See why I can never make sense of the previous threads? I could be breaking PHI rules! What the heck are those anyway?!?

[Librarian]

I don't see anything in PC 17000 which says that PHI only applies when initially moving into the state.

ETA: The way I read it is that it applies any time a resident of California acquires a firearm outside the state and then imports it into the state. Most instances involves moving here, but there are other possibilities such as the situation of the OP.

The only other legal way to take possession of a firearm outside of CA is to have a C&R license and to buy C&R guns (C&R handguns have to be reported to CA when one returns to CA).

So, if one is not yet a CA resident, and acquires guns where ever one lives now, and then is somehow induced to move to CA, the PHI path is correct. That applies to whenever you move the guns to the state, not just when you move here, so one could bring the first X handguns in February, 2012, and properly register them within the 60 days, and be all legal; then, one could go back to where ever, and get the rest of the handguns (legal storage in that place without making a transfer is outside the scope of this thread), say, in Feb of 2013, and register those within the 60 days, and all will still be on course. (The law has no idea that 'moving' is ((or can be)) a 'process'; it appears to be considered an 'event'. My suggestion of PHI for the 'second wave', if you will, just seems to be consistent.) One may NOT, however, on that trip back, acquire any new ones; it's just the guns you already owned when becoming a CA resident.

The DOJ FAQ is fairly clear:

I am moving into California and I own several handguns. What are the new-resident registration requirements?

You are considered to be a personal handgun importer as defined by California law. You may bring all of your otherwise California-legal firearms with you, but you must report all of your handguns to the DOJ within 60 days as required utilizing the New Resident Handgun Ownership Report, pdf. You are not required to report rifles or shotguns. You may not bring ammunition feeding devices with a capacity greater than ten rounds, machineguns, or assault weapons into California.

OTOH, inheritance is its own thing. The Feds do not require an FFL for interstate inheritance. CA does not require an FFL for inheritance. BUT, CA expects inherited handguns to be documented via the OPLAW form. This thread is about an inherited handgun, to a CA beneficiary who is already a resident.

Intrafamilial transfer - http://wiki.calgunsfoundation.org/Tr...Family_Members

Interstate transfer - http://wiki.calgunsfoundation.org/Tr...rms_Interstate

Inheritance - http://wiki.calgunsfoundation.org/In...and_Interstate

[morrcarr67]

no dealer required for a transfer in the family. It must go parent to child, frandparent to child or vice versa of either. The handgun cannot go from OPs father in law directly to OP, must go to OPs husband first.

The Itrafamiliar rule does not apply to this trans action because it is an Inheritance.

You could Inherit a gun from anyone and you could go to whatever state it is in and pick it up and bring it back home with you.