Title 13 — Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions

A testator, a person who is nominated in a will to serve as a personal representative, or, with the testator's consent, an interested party may petition the court to determine before the testator's death that the will is a valid will subject only to subsequent revocation or modif…

If at least one of the trustees of a trust is a qualified person, the settlor or a trustee of the trust may petition the court to determine before the settlor's death that the trust is valid and enforceable under its terms, subject only to a subsequent revocation or modification …

(a) The venue for a petition under AS 13.12.530 is (1) the judicial district of this state where the testator is domiciled; or (2) if the person who executed the will is not domiciled in this state, any judicial district of this state. (b) The venue for a petition under AS 13.12.…

A petition under AS 13.12.530 must contain (1) a statement that a copy of the will has been filed with the court; (2) a statement that the will is in writing; (3) a statement that the will was signed by the testator, or was signed in the testator's name by another person in the t…

(a) A petition for trust validity under AS 13.12.535 must contain (1) a statement that a copy of the trust has been filed with the court; (2) a statement that the trust is in writing and was signed by the settlor; (3) a statement that the trust was executed with the intent that i…

The court may declare a will or trust to be valid and make other findings of fact and conclusions of law that are appropriate under the circumstances. After the testator's death, unless the will is modified or revoked after the declaration, the will has full legal effect as the i…

A person, whether the person is known, unknown, born, or not born at the time of a proceeding under AS 13.12.530 — 13.12.590, including a person who is represented by another person under AS 13.06.120, is bound by the declaration under AS 13.12.555 even if, by the time of the tes…

(a) After the petition under AS 13.12.530 or 13.12.535 is filed, the court shall fix a time and place for a hearing. The petitioner shall notify the spouse, the children, and the heirs of the testator or settlor in the manner established by AS 13.06.110. (b) In addition to the no…

A petitioner under AS 13.12.530 or 13.12.535 has the burden of establishing prima facie proof of the execution of the will or trust. A person who opposes the petition has the burden of establishing the lack of testamentary intent, lack of capacity, undue influence, fraud, duress,…

After a declaration of the validity of a will under AS 13.12.555, a testator may modify a will by a later will or codicil executed according to the laws of this state or another state, and the will may be revoked or modified under AS 13.12.507, 13.12.508, or another applicable la…

After a declaration of validity under AS 13.12.555, a trust may be modified, terminated, revoked, or reformed under AS 13.36.340 — 13.36.365, or another applicable law.

(a) A notice of the filing of a petition under AS 13.12.530 — 13.12.580, a summary of all formal proceedings under AS 13.12.530 — 13.12.580, and a dispositional order or a modification or termination of a dispositional order relating to a proceeding under AS 13.12.530 — 13.12.580…

Article 7. Rules of Construction Applicable Only to Wills. In AS 13.12.530 — 13.12.590, (1) “qualified person” has the meaning given in AS 13.36.390; (2) “testator” means a person who executes a will as a testator; (3) “trust” means a revocable or irrevocable trust.

Except as provided in AS 13.06.068, in the absence of a finding of a contrary intention, the rules of construction in AS 13.12.601 — 13.12.609 control the construction of a will.

A will may provide for the passage of all property the testator owns at death and all property acquired by the estate after the testator's death.

(a) If a devisee fails to survive the testator and is a grandparent, a descendant of a grandparent, or a stepchild of either the testator or the donor of a power of appointment exercised by the testator's will, the following apply: (1) except as provided in (4) of this subsection…

(a) Except as provided in AS 13.12.603, a devise, other than a residuary devise, that fails for any reason becomes a part of the residue. (b) Except as provided in AS 13.12.603, if the residue is devised to two or more persons, the share of a residuary devisee that fails for any …

(a) If a testator executes a will that devises securities and the testator then owned securities that meet the description in the will, the devise includes additional securities that are owned by the testator at death to the extent the additional securities were acquired by the t…

(a) A specific devisee has a right to the specifically devised property in the testator's estate at death and (1) any amount of a condemnation award for the taking of the property unpaid at death; (2) any proceeds unpaid at death on fire or casualty insurance on or other recovery…

A specific devise passes subject to any mortgage interest existing at the date of death, without right of exoneration, regardless of a general directive in the will to pay debts.

In the absence of a requirement that a power of appointment be exercised by a reference, or by an express or specific reference, to the power, a general residuary clause in a will, or a will making general disposition of all of the testator's property, expresses an intention to e…

Article 8. Rules of Construction Applicable to Wills and Other Governing Instruments. (a) Property a testator gave in the testator's lifetime to a person is treated as a satisfaction of a devise in whole or in part, only if (1) the will provides for deduction of the gift; (2) the…

In the absence of a finding of a contrary intention, the rules of construction in AS 13.12.701 — 13.12.711 control the construction of a governing instrument. The rules of construction in AS 13.12.701 — 13.12.711 apply to a governing instrument of any type, except as the applicat…

(a) For the purposes of AS 13.06 — AS 13.36, except as provided in (d) of this section, an individual who is not established by clear and convincing evidence to have survived an event, including the death of another individual, by 120 hours is considered to have predeceased the e…

(a) The meaning and legal effect of a governing instrument is determined by the local law of the state selected in the governing instrument, unless the application of that law is contrary to the provisions relating to the elective share described in AS 13.12.201 — 13.12.214, the …

If a governing instrument creating a power of appointment expressly requires that the power be exercised by a reference, an express reference, or a specific reference, to the power or its source, it is presumed that the donor's intention, in requiring that the donee exercise the …

(a) Adopted individuals and individuals born out of wedlock, and their respective descendants if appropriate to the class, are included in class gifts and other terms of relationship in accordance with the rules for intestate succession. Terms of relationship that do not differen…

(a) If a beneficiary fails to survive the decedent and is a grandparent, a descendant of a grandparent, or a stepchild of the decedent, the following apply: (1) except as provided in (4) of this subsection, if the beneficiary designation is not in the form of a class gift and the…

(a) A future interest under the terms of a trust is contingent on the beneficiary's surviving the distribution date. If a beneficiary of a future interest under the terms of a trust fails to survive the distribution date, the following apply: (1) except as provided in (4) of this…

If a class gift in favor of “descendants,” “issue,” or “heirs of the body” does not specify the manner in which the property is to be distributed among the class members, the property is distributed among the class members who are living when the interest is to take effect in pos…

(a) If an applicable statute or a governing instrument calls for property to be distributed “by representation” or “per capita at each generation,” the property is divided into as many equal shares as there are (1) surviving descendants in the generation nearest to the designated…

The doctrine of worthier title is abolished as a rule of law and as a rule of construction. Language in a governing instrument describing the beneficiaries of a disposition as the transferor's “heirs,” “heirs at law,” “next of kin,” “distributees,” “relatives,” or “family,” or la…

If an applicable statute or a governing instrument calls for a present or future distribution to or creates a present or future interest in a designated individual's “heirs,” “heirs at law,” “next of kin,” “relatives,” or “family,” or language of similar import, the property pass…

(a) Unless the trust provides otherwise, a beneficiary of a trust has a right to property that, by the terms of the trust, is to be specifically distributed to the beneficiary and to (1) any amount of a condemnation award that is for the taking of the property and that is unpaid …

Article 9. General Provisions Concerning Probate and Nonprobate Transfers. (a) If an individual includes a provision in a will, trust document, or beneficiary designation that is designed to reduce federal estate tax liability to zero, or to the lowest possible amount payable, by…

[Repealed or reserved.]

(a) An individual who is divorced from the decedent or whose marriage to the decedent has been annulled is not a surviving spouse unless, by virtue of a subsequent marriage, the individual is married to the decedent at the time of death. A decree of separation that does not termi…

(a) An individual who feloniously kills the decedent forfeits all benefits under this chapter with respect to the decedent's estate, including an intestate share, an elective share, an omitted spouse's or child's share, a homestead allowance, exempt property, and a family allowan…

Article 10. Miscellaneous Provisions. (a) Except as provided by the express terms of a governing instrument, a court order, or a contract relating to the division of the marital estate made between the divorced individuals before or after the marriage, divorce, or annulment, the …

(a) Subject to (c) of this section, a trust may be performed by the trustee for 21 years but not longer, whether or not the terms of the trust contemplate a longer duration, if (1) the trust is for a specific lawful, noncharitable purpose or for a lawful, noncharitable purpose to…

(a) Except as provided by AS 13.06.068, a will is valid as regards form, irrespective of the place where the will is made, of the location of the assets, and of the nationality, domicile, or residence of the testator, if the will is made in the form of an international will compl…

(a) The international will must be written. The will does not need to be written by the testator. The will may be written in any language, or by hand or other means. (b) The testator shall declare in the presence of two witnesses and of a person authorized to act in connection wi…

(a) The signatures shall be placed at the end of the international will. If the will consists of several sheets, each sheet shall be signed by the testator or, if the testator is unable to sign, by the person signing on the testator's behalf or, if a person is not signing on the …

The authorized person shall attach to the international will a certificate to be signed by the authorized person establishing that the requirements of AS 13.12.912 — 13.12.921 for valid execution of an international will have been complied with. The authorized person shall keep a…

In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the certificate of the authorized person is conclusive of the formal validity of the instrument as an international will under AS 13.12.912 — 13.12.921. The absence or irregularity of a certificate does not affect the formal validity of…

An international will is subject to the ordinary rules of revocation of wills.

AS 13.12.912 — 13.12.917 and 13.12.921 derive from the Annex to Convention of October 26, 1973, Providing a Uniform Law on the Form of an International Will. In interpreting and applying AS 13.12.912 — 13.12.921, regard shall be had to its international origin and to the need for…

Individuals who are licensed to practice law in this state and who are in good standing as active law practitioners in this state, are hereby declared to be authorized persons in relation to international wills.

The Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development shall establish a registry system by which authorized persons may register in a central information center information regarding the execution of international wills, keeping that information in strictest confidence …

In AS 13.12.912 — 13.12.921, (1) “authorized person” and “person authorized to act in connection with international wills” mean a person who by AS 13.12.919, or by the laws of the United States, including members of the diplomatic and consular service of the United States designa…