Probate in Alaska: small estates, no will, and skipping court

When someone dies in Alaska, the family's first question is usually practical. Do we have to go to court, and how long will it take?

Often the answer is no, or not for long. Alaska has a small estate affidavit, a simple informal probate, and a deed that passes a home without court. This page covers each one, plus who inherits if there is no will. It is part of our estate planning guides for each state. If the word is new, start with what probate is.

Can my family use a small estate affidavit in Alaska?

Yes, if the estate fits. Most states have a shortcut like this, and the limits vary widely. Alaska's affidavit has two separate caps (AS 13.16.680).

Thirty days after death, a person entitled to the property can collect it by affidavit if the whole estate, wherever it is, less liens, is only:

• Registered vehicles worth no more than $100,000 in total, and
• Other personal property worth no more than $50,000.

Two more conditions apply. Nobody can have applied for, or been appointed as, personal representative anywhere. And the person signing must actually be entitled to the property.

Banks and transfer agents that pay under the affidavit are released from responsibility (AS 13.16.685). The affidavit doesn't cover real estate, so a home in the person's name only needs another route.

Summary administration

There is a second shortcut for estates that a court has opened. If the inventory shows the estate, less liens, is no more than the family allowances, administration costs, reasonable funeral expenses and last-illness medical bills, the personal representative can distribute right away. No notice to creditors is needed, and the estate closes with a sworn statement (AS 13.16.690, AS 13.16.695).

Which path fits?

Who inherits if there's no will?

Alaska's intestacy law decides. It gives the surviving spouse (AS 13.12.102):

• Everything, if there are no descendants and no parent, or if all the descendants are also the spouse's and the spouse has no other children.
• The first $200,000 plus three-fourths of the rest, if there are no descendants but a parent survives.
• The first $150,000 plus half the rest, if all the descendants are also the spouse's but the spouse has children from another relationship.
• The first $100,000 plus half the rest, if any descendant is not the spouse's.

Alaska also has a special rule for Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act corporation stock. The spouse takes all of it if there are no surviving children or other issue, or half if there are.

Anything that doesn't go to a spouse passes in this order (AS 13.12.103):

1. Children and other descendants.
2. Parents equally, or the surviving parent.
3. Brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews.
4. Half to the father's side and half to the mother's side: grandparents or their descendants.

Friends and charities never appear on this list. If you want the neighbor who looks after your dog to receive anything, put it in a will or trust. Our post on dying without a will covers what happens when the list runs short.

Who serves as personal representative?

Alaska calls the executor a "personal representative." If more than one person wants the job, the law sets the order (AS 13.16.065):

1. The person named in a probated will.
2. A surviving spouse who inherits under the will.
3. Other people who inherit under the will.
4. The surviving spouse.
5. Other heirs.
6. Any creditor, 45 days after death.

People in groups 2 through 5 may nominate someone else. A personal representative is a fiduciary: legally required to act in the estate's interest and follow what the will says.

Can someone out of state serve?

Yes. Alaska's statute has no residency rule. The only listed disqualifications are being under 19 or being found unsuitable by the court in formal proceedings.

A bond is required, for residents and nonresidents alike, unless the will waives it, the heirs or beneficiaries waive it in writing, or the representative is a qualified corporate fiduciary (AS 13.16.255). A line in your will waiving bond can save your family money. Our post on who should be your executor helps you choose.

Informal or formal probate?

Alaska follows the Uniform Probate Code model, with two paths. Informal probate is an application to the court's registrar, with no hearing. The registrar can issue a statement of informal probate once at least 120 hours have passed since death (AS 13.16.080, AS 13.16.085).

Formal probate goes before a judge and is where objections are heard. Either way, probate or an appointment generally must start within three years after death (AS 13.16.040). Our post on the probate process walks through the steps.

How long do creditors have?

The personal representative publishes a notice once a week for three weeks. Debts from before death are barred unless presented within four months after the first publication (AS 13.16.450, AS 13.16.460). If no notice is published, the limit is three years after death.

How much is the personal representative paid?

Alaska says "reasonable compensation," with no percentage schedule (AS 13.16.430). If the will sets a fee, the personal representative may turn it down before taking the job and take reasonable pay instead. Our post on what an executor gets paid compares approaches.

Can my house skip probate?

Yes, with a transfer-on-death deed. Alaska adopted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act (AS 13.48.010).

What to know (AS 13.48.045, AS 13.48.050):

• The deed must meet the rules for a recordable deed and say the transfer happens at your death.
• It must be recorded before your death in the recording district where the property sits.
• The beneficiary doesn't have to be told, sign or accept it.
• Name people individually. A deed that names beneficiaries only as a group, such as "my children," is void.
• You can revoke it only by recording a revocation. Tearing it up doesn't work.

Optional statutory forms exist for the deed and the revocation (AS 13.48.195). A living trust is the other common way to keep a home out of court. Our posts on how to avoid probate and what a trustee does compare the options.

Will my heirs owe Alaska estate tax?

No. The Alaska Department of Revenue says plainly that Alaska no longer has an estate tax (Alaska Department of Revenue, Tax Division). Its old tax was tied to a federal credit that ended in 2005.

Here is a typical case, a composite. Joyce, 75, lived in Juneau and never married. Her home had a recorded transfer-on-death deed naming her two nieces by name. Her savings and car came in under the affidavit limits. Thirty days after Joyce died, one niece used the affidavit for the accounts and the car. The house passed under the deed. There was no court case.

Trella Trust Company, through a Kinly membership, can be named as executor or trustee, first or as backup to someone you choose. If it steps in and settles the estate, that work is charged by the hour, and you see the rates before anything starts.

Before death, the papers that matter most are your powers of attorney. See our Alaska financial power of attorney guide and Alaska medical power of attorney guide.

Common questions

What is the small estate limit in Alaska?

Up to $50,000 in personal property plus up to $100,000 in registered vehicles, less liens. The family must wait 30 days after death, and the affidavit doesn't cover real estate.

Does Alaska allow transfer-on-death deeds?

Yes. The deed must be recorded before death, and beneficiaries must be named individually. A deed naming only a group, like "my children," is void.

Can someone who lives in another state be a personal representative in Alaska?

Yes. Alaska has no residency requirement. A bond is required unless the will or the heirs waive it.

Does Alaska have an estate tax?

No. The Alaska Department of Revenue says Alaska no longer has an estate tax. Its old one was tied to a federal credit that ended in 2005.

Sources

• AS 13.16.680 (Alaska Legislature, Alaska Statutes)
• AS 13.16.685 (Alaska Legislature, Alaska Statutes)
• AS 13.16.690 (Alaska Legislature, Alaska Statutes)
• AS 13.16.695 (Alaska Legislature, Alaska Statutes)
• AS 13.12.102 (Alaska Legislature, Alaska Statutes)
• AS 13.12.103 (Alaska Legislature, Alaska Statutes)
• AS 13.16.065 (Alaska Legislature, Alaska Statutes)
• AS 13.16.255 (Alaska Legislature, Alaska Statutes)
• AS 13.16.040 (Alaska Legislature, Alaska Statutes)
• AS 13.16.080 (Alaska Legislature, Alaska Statutes)
• AS 13.16.085 (Alaska Legislature, Alaska Statutes)
• AS 13.16.450 (Alaska Legislature, Alaska Statutes)
• AS 13.16.460 (Alaska Legislature, Alaska Statutes)
• AS 13.16.430 (Alaska Legislature, Alaska Statutes)
• AS 13.48.010 (Alaska Legislature, Alaska Statutes)
• AS 13.48.045 (Alaska Legislature, Alaska Statutes)
• AS 13.48.050 (Alaska Legislature, Alaska Statutes)
• AS 13.48.195 (Alaska Legislature, Alaska Statutes)
• Alaska Department of Revenue, Tax Division: Programs