A person dies with less than $50,000 in assets and owned guns.
What do I do with the guns?
Answer
Guns are property, and therefore part of the deceased person's estate, whether "small" (under $50,000 in assets and no real property) or plenary (either probate or administration, depending on whether a will was left).
A fiduciary (executor or administrator, depending on whether a will was left) should be appointed, and whether or not that person possesses a valid and appropriate license to possess those firearms, they should separate the guns from any ammunition, if possible, and take whatever other steps are legally mandated to mitigate the danger. See Penal Law §§265.45 and 265.50 (criminal liability for failure to safely store firearms). "Particularly if these weapons are possessed in a home or dwelling where a person prohibited from possession of such weapon resides (such as an infant, a felon, a mentally defective person, a person who has been convicted of a crime of domestic violence, or a person subject to an order or protection), the fiduciary must take appropriate action with respect to the safe storage of these weapons." 2 NY Practice Guide: Probate & Estate Admin §25.08.
In addition, Surrogate's Court Procedure Act §2509 ("Firearms inventory") mandates the filing of a Firearms Inventory with the local Surrogate's Court, using the official form, which must also be mailed to the state Division of Criminal Justice Services. Quoting NY Practice Guide: Probate & Estate Admin §25.05: "The firearms inventory form requires a listing of each and every weapon owned by decedent, the make, model, caliber or gauge, serial number, and valuation. The inventory form must be signed by an attorney and certified by the fiduciary" and must be "kept in a secure location separate from the public estate file. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, the inventory will be made available for inspection only to any 'person interested' in the proceeding or their counsel" under 22 NYCRR 207.64(b)(4).
Furthermore, only if any and all beneficiaries entitled to inherit the guns have valid and appropriate licenses to own and possess them, may they be distributed in like manner as the estate's other property.