Divorce & Spouse Moving Out....

[Sandyb]

Not ashamed to state I'm filing for a divorce from my spouse... Good ridence, the only downside being our 9 year old daughter. After some tooling and froing, she'll hopefully be out by Christmas, but understand I can't legally change the locks until the divorce is finalised. However as guns are stored in the house and her family may gain access with her or without her using the keys should she allow them, then surely on the grounds of gun safety I can insist she give the keys back. I won't want her accessing the house purely for this. I'd change the locks in any case, as for the costs involved, would rather have peace of mind.

I'm guessing I either need to speak with the BASC or my local FLD.

Anyone been through this that are happy to either PM or post?

 

[timbrayford]

Take care, if plod thinks the situation has become acrimonious they might temporarily take charge of your guns if they believe that there is a risk of them being used in a domestic. Speak to BASC, it may be wise to lodge your guns with an RFD until you get the locks changed.

 

[Sandyb]

I spoke with the club secretary at the shooting club, but as the house is in my name and licenced to hold them and had done so since we were married, I was told I didn't need to store them with an RFD.

I guess it would be be easier for me to draft a note for her to sign stating she's happy for me to change the locks for 'Firearm security'.

Noting she should not have access to the cabinets as no longer residing at the property?

Guess will have to phone BASC tomorrow.

 

[enfieldspares]

I spoke with the club secretary at the shooting club, but as the house is in my name and licenced to hold them and had done so since we were married, I was told I didn't need to store them with an RFD.

It won't be your club secretary who'll have to account for any problems if they do arise. It's easy for him/her to offer advice but he or she won't be the one that has to deal with any consequences if that advice is defective.

What do they say? Free advice is free because it is worth nothing? Lodge them with an RFD. And at the same time ask the RFD to give you a valuation of the individual guns (and a brief explanation as to why and how he arrived at that figure) as they may be assessed as assets in any divorce settlement.

I had to do such an assessment maybe thirty years ago in a divorce. One issue was what was described by the other half's solicitor as a "pair" of guns. I valued them for what they were. Two guns with consecutive numbers but not in fact a "pair" at all as in made as such...just two guns that the owner had bought as the numbers were consecutive.

Also remember that it won't look good if your wife's family suddenly have their kids taking shot gun cartridges to school that they've found loose in your house. I don't keep my shot gun cartridges in a locked gun cabinet (in fact they are in a locked gunroom) but not a cabinet and I doubt if you do either. The same also applies to air weapons.

If your wife's family bring kids into the house is there an issue with air weapons not secured so as to be not accessible? Remember that law with them has now changed to require such safe storage in certain circumstances.

The brief explanation to anyone it may concern is that as your wife will have keys and you don't know if she'll make copies to pass to family as spare sets that you felt it better if the guns and cartridges were off the premises for better security. No further explanation needed.

 

[timbrayford]

I spoke with the club secretary at the shooting club, but as the house is in my name and licenced to hold them and had done so since we were married, I was told I didn't need to store them with an RFD.

I guess it would be be easier for me to draft a note for her to sign stating she's happy for me to change the locks for 'Firearm security'.

Noting she should not have access to the cabinets as no longer residing at the property?

Guess will have to phone BASC tomorrow.

Don't panic, its only really an issue if things kick off. Without going into details one of my mates at the rifle club didn't have a problem until his sister in law decided to become a well wisher and stirred things up with plod.

 

[Heym SR20]

I would put them with a friendly RFD. Divorce lawyers have a habit of using these as a lever. If in doubt I would stick with an RFD and then inform the FEO that you have done so.

 

[gonzo]

Long ago, I had recently gone through a separation when I moved my FAC to my house (up till thst time, my guns and FAC were still at my parents place). Because, as I was on my own, I had more time for playing with my toys.
There was no trouble between us at the time and things were on civil terms. But the FEO did recommend that at the first sign of anthing turning bad, to get the guns to an RFD. As that meant that should I ever be accused of threatening with them, the police could just dismiss the claims. Otherwise it would have to be investigated and would be drawn out and messy.

I reckon that would be the advice of the police and BASC.

Shotguns are easier to transfer around. So you could get a friend to look after them, if they had safe space. Obviouslt they would need to go on their ticket after 72hrs. I assume the transaction could be recorded as 'on loan'? (I've not looked at my sgc for a while, so can't recall what the tables were headed....)

 

[RancidRabbit]

As Gonzo said,
been there, got the t shirt.
Any allegations, even by spiteful, vindictive, evil ex partners, are still taken seriously!!

 

[finnbear270]

As a former owner of the same T shirt, ...... I would be straight out of the firing line & make the possibility of firearm trouble null & void by storage, much cheaper than a full lock change, it's not just the front door.

 

[Sandyb]

A lock change is cheap enough, I have keyed alike door locks anyway...

Rather than lodge the guns with the RFD I could simply sign over the sets of keys, there are only 2 per safe as the standard Brattonsound.

In truth, things aren't that bad, we're keeping everything amicable for our daughter, and wouldn't jeopardise my shooting hobby and lifestyle for a threat. Too many guns to lodge and there are no guns that are not stored in the safes.

Will see if the BASC and FLD would agree to this. We're only taking what has been bought and owned by each other separately, we've not really bought many things jointly.

 

[finnbear270]

Sandy, you being the man on the ground , you are in a better position to assess the mood.

 

[Gunner223]

Yep been here before, I stored mine at the local gun shop , lucky I did as she claimed I threatened her with one but they had been in storage for a month.
Its a cheap option for piece of mind.

 

[shakey jake]

i would advise you store all your guns with an rfd asap, dont tell her or your daughter, if anything turns nasty or is said youve got a peice of paper saying your guns are safe and sound, its only a few months till xmas, ive been there and beter to be safe than sorry
shakey

 

[Chasey]

Not ashamed to state I'm filing for a divorce from my spouse... Good ridence, the only downside being our 9 year old daughter. After some tooling and froing, she'll hopefully be out by Christmas, but understand I can't legally change the locks until the divorce is finalised. However as guns are stored in the house and her family may gain access with her or without her using the keys should she allow them, then surely on the grounds of gun safety I can insist she give the keys back. I won't want her accessing the house purely for this. I'd change the locks in any case, as for the costs involved, would rather have peace of mind.

I'm guessing I either need to speak with the BASC or my local FLD.

Anyone been through this that are happy to either PM or post?

One of syndicate members was in a similar situation. The plod seized his rifles and that was 18 months ago.

Id not put the seed of thought in her head re guns.

Id lodge them with a RFD until the situation was resolved re locks.

That way if it kicked off you can demonstrate a reasonable and safety conscious attitude.

 

[Hanechdene]

I was divorced three years ago and would advise also to lodge your guns with a RFD and do not let anyone else know. Whilst reaching a settlement, my ex started bantering around alsorts of allegations which all came to nothing as I had no firearms or access to.

According to the citizens advice website you can change the locks once an agreement has been reached. My lawyer suggested I shouldn’t change them till I had my divorce papers in my hand, I changed them anyway which ended up in a heated day or two.

Make sure you find a good lawyer that comes recommended. My ex’s lawyer was awful which was certainly to my advantage.

If you are able reduce your assets and money in the bank convert it to cash for a celebration once all is done. No point giving 1/2 of everything away.......

 

[Uncle Norm]

In my time as a firearms licensing manager, I was often the person in receipt of such allegations, who had to decide upon initial action and outcome.

Owing to some terrible tragedies that have been committed with licenced firearms, at times of domestic strife, the police will not take any chances. They will seize the guns and certificates and hold them until the allegations have been investigated and resolved. That is how it is.

Sadly, those members advocating immediate transfer of guns to the safe custody of an RFD are, in my view, absolutely correct. We don't have to like it but that is the reality if allegations are made.

 

[Turkish]

Store them with an RFD.
The issue is not that she may be able to gain access, but the fact you have access and any allegation toward you will result in confiscation and revoking of your licences.

If you are a member of the NRA, call them. They are very sympathetic in situations like this, and can and do offer free storage in such situations as part of your membership.

Good luck.

 

[Ray7756]

A few years ago a mate of mine went through the divorce bit,,,,he knew she was going to make it as dificult as possible so asked if I could store his guns for him, I was lucky enough to have a spare gunsafe, after a bit of moving guns around, I was able to offer him his own gunsafe that only he had access too , i had access to the gunroom but gave him all the keys for "his" gunsafe, ran this by the local FEO and it was fine, saved him a few bob in storage and a lot of hassle when we went shooting
Cheers
Ray

 

[Woodsmoke]

Sorry to hear about the divorce. It's not a nice position to be in, regardless of the circumstances. It's entirely your call re' your guns though. We all know the story of the guy whose wife called the police to tell them he'd pointed a gun at her, only for them to open the cabinet and find a receipt from his RFD dated a month earlier . . . . . .

Best of luck with everything

 

[RancidRabbit]

Don’t underestimate the tactics used by lawyers to get the best financial settlement for their client.
They can also make claims that “she is concerned you might”. You are getting divorced, claims of “depression”, “concern for mental wellbeing” etc.
Lawyers are shysters!