Gun ownership
 

Hi I am in SoCal..I left a pistol and a rifle at a friends house. He died of a heart attack back in January. He left no will, and all I am getting is the runaround from the estate. The guns are registered to me, the local P.D. will not get involved. I don't have the receipts , what can I do? Thanks

When you say they are registered to you, who are they registered with?

Remember, this is The Democratic People's Republic of California. If it was purchased in CA since 1990 it will be registered with Stasi, AKA the CA DOJ

Speak more plainly. 'The estate'? His kids won't let you retrieve your guns? Without some kind of paperwork, or an obvious personal connection, I can understand his kids hesitance.

......I don't 'leave' my guns anywhere. I guess I'm just crazy that way.

Well I guess HardDrive, you are a perfect person.....

That's a strange conclusion to make.

Ok, I have to ask.... why were your guns at someone else's house when you weren't there, unless he was a gunsmith working on your guns, in which case, they'd have probably been logged? Seems like a real strange thing to do. Even in gun-friendly states, it's a huge liability. And in KA it's insane. Is there more to this story? I may host a post-range-visit gun-cleaning-party now and then. But everyone leaves with all their guns 100% of the time. And there have been a few times when we had stuff so far apart, we weren't sure it was going back together.

Not going to be easy if the coppers don't want to help.

If the handgun is registered with the DOJ, I am sure you can get a record from them. Go to small claims court with that information. The DOJ will have a registration if you imported the gun moving here (and registered as required) or if you bought it in the last 20+ years here in CA.

The long gun does not have a registration in CA with the DOJ. That thing will be tough to trace to you without a felony police case.

I would also make sure you know the laws of lending out a handgun in CA. Last time I read about this, I thought you would at least have to have an up to date handgun safety certificate if you are the recipient of the gun.

The best thing to do is to contact the folks at Calguns.net either post on their forum (law section) to get an idea or contact them directly for lawyer advice.

HTH

George (never lend out cars, tools, guns and your wife).

The only time I will allow guns to be left at my house is if they belong to my father since I will get them anyway when he dies or from my son because he will get the guns when I die so they will all go through my house at some point anyway, I will in turn leave mine with them, but beyond that you NEVER leave your guns anywhere you are not. I think you just learned a lesson the hard way

Thanks for the advice my friend was an attorney..not strange I knew him for 25 years. Thanks to those who gave constructive advice... We are talking about a couple of 22LR. Yes sometimes people make mistakes I should have retrieved them sooner. They went not lent out they were stored there, while I had work done on my house. Please close this thread

Ah, the classic "close this thread" request. Well, we will close this thread with the prophetic words of Mr. Johnny Cash:

Don't take your guns to town son
Leave your guns at home Bill
Don't take your guns to town

Chances are that by now the guns in question have been put on some kind of "against the law" status out there anyway

This thread was started to solicit intelligent responses on how to navigate the system. I am a Vietnam combat veteran infantry...and do not need lectures ...thanks

I would assume you will need to file a claim against the estate, likely in small claims court, unless these are rare/unique, then the value of the guns needs to be taken into consideration.

Do you have the serial numbers? Any other proof of ownership besides the CA DOJ reg on the hand gun?

Calguns.net is a good place to ask too.

Good luck.

Thank you for your service. That is NOT a joke in any form.

One of the beauties of this forum is you get a mix of proper answers and humor mixed together, it is part of the flow of it and what makes people want to come back. Seriously, don't get upset at the jokes because tomorrow it will be your turn to make someone else smile by making a harmless sarcastic comment.

I apologize, I guess I didn't need to be so snarky. I think small claims court would be the easiest way to go if the mans children won't cooperate.

I'm sorry you lost your friend.

Whats unreal is that under many proposed laws this would make you a felon.

If the "estate" is being douchey, I wonder if reporting them stolen would get the PD's attention? I'd ask your lawyer though, as this might get them confiscated in Kalifornia. A letter from your lawyer and/or small claims court your best bet otherwise.

In this country we have "theft by retention", so I'm guessing you guys have something similar.

I'd say forget it before the ATF agents arrive at midnight at your house.

You have no receipts from your original purchase of the said pistol and rifle.

You "left" it with a guy that happened to suffer a deadly heart attack?

Do you have all of the paperwork of the guns being "registered" to you? You also misplaced this?

You can not, under any circumstances, legally "leave" a gun with anyone (except a spouse or a proper FFL--a gunsmith has a FFL). Otherwise, you must legally transfer them.

It's a violation of 18 U.S.C. *&* 922 (u). It could be called theft and subject to 10 Years and a $250,000 fine.

Apparently you do. A handgun is to be within your immediate possession unless stored in your dwelling. Other than 'out for repair', there are no exceptions. Maybe you shouldn't be a gun-owner?

I'm a veteran too. Thanks for your service.