out of state intrafamilial transfer with power of attorney

[daveroth999]

Hi All,

Can't find any good info for what appears to be an edge case.
I'm very interested in doing the correct, legal thing here for the record

My father in-law - my wife's father - is in Oklahoma in a nursing home.
I'm facilitating a transfer of handguns from him to my wife.
Father in-law has dementia and I am his Power of Attorney (POA).

I'm seeing the process described in this section is super helpful, but I received some incorrect information previously on out of state familial transfers and I went ahead and brought the firearms to CA.

Can anyone tell me how I, as POA for my father in-law, can best facilitate the transfer?

I believe the firearms are on-roster in CA. A 38 special and a ruger target .22

[Quiet]

Hi All,

Can't find any good info for what appears to be an edge case.
I'm very interested in doing the correct, legal thing here for the record

My father in-law - my wife's father - is in Oklahoma in a nursing home.
I'm facilitating a transfer of handguns from him to my wife.
Father in-law has dementia and I am his Power of Attorney (POA).

I'm seeing the process described in this section is super helpful, but I received some incorrect information previously on out of state familial transfers and I went ahead and brought the firearms to CA.

Can anyone tell me how I, as POA for my father in-law, can best facilitate the transfer?

I believe the firearms are on-roster in CA. A 38 special and a ruger target .22

Under Federal laws...

(transferor) Father-in-law = OK resident.
(transferee) wife = CA resident.

Because the transfer is between residents of different States, a FFL must be utilized.

There is no intra-familial transfer exemption to the Federal laws.
There is a bequeath exemption to the Federal laws, but it requires the transferor to be deceased and the firearms named in the deceased's will to the transferee.

There is no exemption to a non-resident that has been granted power of attorney over a resident.

Since transferor is alive, the transfer must be done through a FFL dealer.

Failure to utilize a FFL equates to Federal felonies for everyone involved with the transfer.


Under OK laws...

It is legal for private party transfers to occur beween residents of OK without needing to utilize a FFL.
It is legal for a person granted power of attorney to acquire firearms from the person that he/she has power of attorney over.


Under CA laws...

A CA resident that acquires firearms outside of CA, must utilize a CA FFL dealer in order to legally import the firearms into CA.

There are bequeath exemptions to the CA laws, but it requires the transferor to be deceased & the firearms named in the deceased's will to the transferee or it requires the transferor to be deceased & the CA resident importer to be the executor of the deceased's estate.

Since transferor alive, the transfer must be done through a CA FFL dealer.

Failure to utilize a CA FFL dealer to import the firearms into CA equates to a CA misdemeanor per long gun and a CA felony per handgun.

Since the parties (your father-in-law & your wife) involved in this transfer are considered immediate family, an exemption can be used to transfer off-Roster handguns.


Therefore, in order to be legal under Federal and CA laws...

1. You must find a CA FFL dealer willing to accept an out-of-state intra-familial transfer.
2. The firearms are then delivered to that CA FFL dealer.
3. That CA FFL dealer will then transfer (4473/DROS/10 day wait, 1 in 30 day wait) the firearms to your wife.