Firearms in an Estate

What to do before and after a gun owner passes away in upstate New York.

This is not legal advice. We are not lawyers or law enforcement. Each county handles this a little differently. Call your County Clerk, Sheriff, or pistol-permit office before you move a gun.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

While you are living — make a list

Write this down and tell one trusted person where it is:

• Make, model, caliber, and serial number of all firearms.
• What you paid / what they are worth now.
• Anything special with any of them (engraving, limited edition, family history).
• Who should get them, if anyone.
• Where the firearms and the permit card are kept. Any safe combinations where they are stored.

This list will save alot of trouble later.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How to Transfer Handguns of the Deceased

A New York handgun can be transferred to:

• another person with a valid New York pistol permit after proper procedures.
• a New York licensed gun dealer (FFL), or
• the police / sheriff

It cannot be just given to a person

Already listed on someone else’s permit?

Co-registration is not the same as ownership. Many counties still want estate paperwork. Call the permit office. Do not assume you can skip the close-out.

Going to a family member in New York?

Spouse, domestic partner, child, or step-child is often treated differently than a friend or cousin. Even then, the recipient needs a pistol permit, and the county may still want the transfer run through a dealer or an estate form.

Not sure who should get them, or nobody local has a permit?

Call the sheriff or local police non-emergency line and ask them to take the guns for safekeeping. Get a property receipt. Many departments will later release the guns only to a dealer, not straight to a person.

Unload them. Do not walk into a station carrying them. Ask the agency how they want you to bring them in.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How to Transfer Rifles and Shotguns of the Deceased

Long guns are simpler than handguns, but they are not “no paperwork.”

• Most private transfers in New York still go through an FFL unless it is immediate family (spouse, domestic partner, child, or step-child).
• A semi-automatic rifle generally can only go to someone who has a New York semi-automatic rifle license. It also has to be legal to possess in New York.
• Pump, bolt, and other non-semi rifles and most shotguns do not need a pistol permit, but the transfer rules still apply.

If nobody wants them, a dealer can take them or law enforcement can take them for destruction.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sending guns out of state

Do not ship a handgun yourself.

• Handguns: stay in New York until law enforcement or a New York FFL has them. From there they are sent to an FFL in the other state.
• Long guns: usually go dealer-to-dealer. The person receiving them must be allowed to own that gun where they live.

The other state’s rules matter as much as New York’s. Use a gun shop for the transfer.