My wife's cousin lives in one state and we live in an adjoining state. My wife is her cousin's sole heir and is named as executor in his will. In the event of his passing, what will be necessary for her to legally take possession of his firearms?
John has correctly pointed out that the federal Gun Control Act of 1968 doesn't require an FFL for an interstate transfer of a gun to carry out a bequest under a will. But he doesn't fully answer the question of what the OP's wife must do as executor of a will to take possession of property bequeathed to her in that will.
An executor is the personal representative of the decedent and can have a number of legal responsibilities in connection the winding up of a decedent's estate. Exactly what those responsibilities might be will depend on (1) the laws of the State in which the decedent died; (2) the laws of the State(s) in which any property of the estate is located; (3) the exact situation, e. g., the value of the estate, the types of property the estate consists of, whether the decedent owed any debts or taxes, whether any debts are owed to the estate, etc.; and (4) whether anyone contests the will or otherwise makes a claim against the estate.
Of course we don't know any of those things, and there's no reason we should. It would also be off-topic to get too deeply into the subject. But let's take this opportunity to have a look, in general terms, at how inheritance works.
- Inheritance is controlled by state law. The laws of a State might make provision for a more informal process if the estate isn't very large or doesn't include certain types of property, like real property. But otherwise the transfer of the property of someone who has died to others is generally a very formal process.
- When there's a written will, it normally must be submitted to probate in court.
- In order to be a valid will which can be accepted for probate, the state laws set out requirements the will must satisfy. For example, most state laws require that to be valid a will must be signed by the testator in front of two witnesses who then sign as witnesses. Whatever the state requirements might be they must be adhered to or the will won't be recognized; and the decedent's property will pass by intestate succession, discussed below.
- Heirs, beneficiaries, and certain other parties will be notified that the will has been filed for probate. Notice of probate will also be published in one or more "newspapers of general circulation." This is to give interested parties, including possible creditors of the decedent, notice of the proceedings.
- The will ordinarily designates an executor (i. e., the personal representative of the decedent). That person is not the executor unless and until the will is admitted to probate in the proper court and the court issues Letters Testamentary recognizing that person as executor.
- The executor once qualified then proceeds to identify and account for the assets of the estate. He may need to collect debts owed the decedent and manage property or other assets of the estate. He might also need to sell assets of the estate to raise funds to pay debts of the decedent and/or taxes. He or she then pays debts and taxes of the decedent under court supervision.
- The executor then handles, again under court supervision, distribution of the assets of the estate in accordance with the terms of the written will.
- Intestate succession when someone dies without a will is not some informal dividing up of the decedent's property amongst the relatives. It's a highly formalized procedure.
- First, someone has to go to the proper court and apply to be named the administrator (i. e., the personal representative of the decedent to wind up the estate) of the decedent's estate.
- Once the court has issued an order designating someone as the administrator, that person proceeds to identify and account for the assets of the estate. He or she then uses those assets to pay any remaining debts of the decedent and any taxes due. This is all done under the supervision of the court.
- After the debts and taxes are paid, the administrator, under court supervision, will distribute any remaining assets to those relatives entitled under the applicable statutes to a share of the estate. Only those relatives specifically identified in the applicable statutes are entitled to a share of the decedent's property, and only in the proportion set out in the applicable statutes.
It's true that often, if there's not a lot of property involved, the relatives don't bother with the formalities and just divide everything up. That usually works out as long as no one complains, but it's not necessarily legal. And if there are conflicting claims on the property or if the decedent left significant debts or unpaid taxes, informality could result in serious complications down the road.
