Title 13 — Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions
37 chapters · 866 sections in this title.
AS 13.16.005 Devolution of estate at death; restrictions.
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The power of a person to leave property by will, and the rights of creditors, devisees, and heirs to the property are subject to the restrictions and limitations contained in AS 13.06 — AS 13.36 to facilitate the prompt settlement of estates. Upon the death of a person, that pers…
AS 13.16.010 Necessity of order of probate for will.
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Except as provided in AS 13.16.680, to be effective to prove the transfer of property or to nominate an executor, a will must be declared to be valid by an order of informal probate by the registrar or by an adjudication of probate by the court.
AS 13.16.015 Necessity of appointment for administration.
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Except as otherwise provided in AS 13.21, to acquire the powers and undertake the duties and liabilities of a personal representative of a decedent, a person must be appointed by order of the court or registrar, qualify, and be issued letters. Administration of an estate is comme…
AS 13.16.020 Claims against decedent; necessity of administration.
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A proceeding to enforce a claim against the estate of a decedent or the decedent's successors may not be revived or commenced before the appointment of a personal representative. After the appointment and until distribution, all proceedings and actions to enforce a claim against …
AS 13.16.025 Proceedings affecting devolution and administration; jurisdiction of subject matter.
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Persons interested in decedents' estates may apply to the registrar for determination in the informal proceedings provided in this chapter, and may petition the court for orders in formal proceedings within the court's jurisdiction including those described in this chapter. The c…
AS 13.16.030 Proceedings within the exclusive jurisdiction of court; service; jurisdiction over persons.
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In proceedings within the exclusive jurisdiction of the court where notice is required by AS 13.06 — AS 13.36 or by rule, and in proceedings to construe probated wills or determine heirs which proceedings concern estates that have not been and cannot at the time of these proceedi…
AS 13.16.035 Scope of proceedings; proceedings independent; exception.
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Unless supervised administration as described in AS 13.16.215 — 13.16.235 is involved, (1) each proceeding before the court or registrar is independent of any other proceeding involving the same estate; (2) petitions for formal orders of the court may combine various requests for…
AS 13.16.040 Probate, testacy, and appointment proceedings; ultimate time limit.
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(a) An informal probate or appointment proceeding or formal testacy or appointment proceeding, other than a proceeding to probate a will previously probated at the testator's domicile and appointment proceedings relating to an estate in which there has been a prior appointment, m…
AS 13.16.045 Statutes of limitation on decedent's cause of action.
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Article 2. Venue for Probate and Administration; Priority to Administer; Demand for Notice. No statute of limitation running on a cause of action belonging to a decedent that had not been barred as of the date of death shall apply to bar a cause of action surviving the decedent's…
AS 13.16.055 Venue for first and subsequent estate proceedings; location of property.
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(a) Venue for the first informal or formal testacy or appointment proceedings after a decedent's death is (1) in the judicial district where the decedent was domiciled at the time of death; or (2) if the decedent was not domiciled in this state, in any judicial district where (A)…
AS 13.16.060 Appointment or testacy proceedings; conflicting claim of domicile in another state.
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If conflicting claims as to the domicile of a decedent are made in a formal testacy or appointment proceeding commenced in this state, and in a testacy or appointment proceeding after notice pending at the same time in another state, the court of this state must stay, dismiss, or…
AS 13.16.065 Priority among persons seeking appointment as personal representative.
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(a) Whether the proceedings are formal or informal, persons who are not disqualified have priority for appointment in the following order: (1) the person with priority as determined by a probated will, including a person nominated by a power conferred in a will; (2) the surviving…
AS 13.16.070 Demand for notice of order or filing concerning decedent's estate.
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Article 3. Informal Probate and Appointment Proceedings. Any person desiring notice of any order or filing pertaining to a decedent's estate in which the person has a financial or property interest, may file a demand for notice with the court at any time after the death of the de…
AS 13.16.080 Informal probate or appointment proceedings; application; contents.
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(a) Applications for informal probate or informal appointment shall be directed to the registrar, and verified by the applicant to be accurate and complete to the best of the applicant's knowledge and belief as to the following information: (1) every application for informal prob…
AS 13.16.085 Informal probate; duty of registrar; effect of informal probate.
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Upon receipt of an application requesting informal probate of a will, the registrar, upon making the findings required by AS 13.16.090, shall issue a written statement of informal probate if at least 120 hours have elapsed since the decedent's death. Informal probate is conclusiv…
AS 13.16.090 Informal probate; proof and findings required.
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(a) In an informal proceeding for original probate of a will, the registrar shall determine whether (1) the application is complete; (2) the applicant has made oath or affirmation that the statements contained in the application are true to the best of the applicant's knowledge a…
AS 13.16.095 Informal probate; unavailable in certain cases.
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Applications for informal probate that relate to one or more of a known series of testamentary instruments, other than wills and codicils, the latest of which does not expressly revoke the earlier, shall be declined.
AS 13.16.100 Informal probate; registrar not satisfied.
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If the registrar is not satisfied that a will is entitled to be probated in informal proceedings because of failure to meet the requirements of AS 13.16.090 and 13.16.095 or any other reason, the registrar may decline the application. A declination of informal probate is not an a…
AS 13.16.105 Informal probate; notice requirements; information distribution.
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(a) The moving party must give notice as described by AS 13.06.110 of the party's application for informal probate (1) to any person demanding it under AS 13.16.070, and (2) to any personal representative of the decedent whose appointment has not been terminated. No other notice …
AS 13.16.110 Informal appointment proceedings; delay in order; duty of registrar; effect of appointment.
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(a) Upon receipt of an application for informal appointment of a personal representative other than a special administrator as provided in AS 13.16.310, if at least 120 hours have elapsed since the decedent's death, the registrar, after making the findings required by AS 13.16.11…
AS 13.16.115 Informal appointment proceedings; determinations required; denial of application.
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(a) In informal appointment proceedings, the registrar must determine whether (1) the application for informal appointment of a personal representative is complete; (2) the applicant has made oath or affirmation that the statements contained in the application are true to the bes…
AS 13.16.120 Informal appointment proceedings; registrar not satisfied.
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If the registrar is not satisfied that a requested informal appointment of a personal representative should be made because of failure to meet the requirements of AS 13.16.110 and 13.16.115, or for any other reason, the registrar may decline the application. A declination of info…
AS 13.16.125 Informal appointment proceedings; notice requirements.
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The moving party must give notice as described by AS 13.06.110 of intention to seek an appointment informally (1) to any person demanding it under AS 13.16.070; and (2) to any person having a prior or equal right to appointment not waived in writing and filed with the court. No o…
AS 13.16.130 Informal appointment unavailable in certain cases.
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Article 4. Formal Testacy and Appointment Proceedings. If an application for informal appointment indicates the existence of a possible unrevoked testamentary instrument that may relate to property subject to the laws of this state, and that is not filed for probate in this court…
AS 13.16.140 Formal testacy proceedings; nature; when commenced.
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(a) A formal testacy proceeding is litigation to determine whether a decedent left a valid will. A formal testacy proceeding may be commenced by an interested person filing a petition as described in AS 13.16.145(a) in which the person requests that the court, after notice and he…
AS 13.16.145 Formal testacy or appointment proceedings; petition; contents.
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(a) Petitions for formal probate of a will, or for adjudication of intestacy with or without request for appointment of a personal representative, must be directed to the court, request a judicial order after notice and hearing, and contain further statements as indicated in this…
AS 13.16.150 Formal testacy proceeding; notice of hearing on petition.
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(a) Upon commencement of a formal testacy proceeding, the court shall fix a time and place of hearing. Notice shall be given in the manner prescribed by AS 13.06.110 by the petitioner to the persons enumerated in this subsection and to any additional person who has filed a demand…
AS 13.16.155 Formal testacy proceedings; written objections to probate.
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Any party to a formal proceeding who opposes the probate of a will for any reason shall state in the pleadings the objections to probate of the will.
AS 13.16.160 Formal testacy proceedings; uncontested cases; hearings and proof.
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If a petition in a testacy proceeding is unopposed, the court may order probate or intestacy on the strength of the pleadings if satisfied that the conditions of AS 13.16.180 have been met, or conduct a hearing in open court and require proof of the matters necessary to support t…
AS 13.16.165 Formal testacy proceedings; contested cases; testimony of attesting witnesses.
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(a) If evidence concerning execution of an attested will that is not self-proved is necessary in contested cases, the testimony of at least one of the attesting witnesses, if within the state, competent, and able to testify, is required. Due execution of an attested or unattested…
AS 13.16.170 Formal testacy proceedings; burdens in contested cases.
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In contested cases, petitioners who seek to establish intestacy have the burden of establishing prima facie proof of death, venue, and heirship. Proponents of a will have the burden of establishing prima facie proof of due execution in all cases, and if they are also petitioners,…
AS 13.16.175 Formal testacy proceedings; will construction; effect of final order in another jurisdiction.
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Subject to AS 13.06.068, a final order of a court of another state determining testacy, the validity, or construction of a will made in a proceeding involving notice to and an opportunity for contest by all interested persons must be accepted as determinative by the courts of thi…
AS 13.16.180 Formal testacy proceedings; order; foreign will.
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After the time required for any notice has expired, upon proof of notice, and after any hearing that may be necessary, if the court finds that the testator is dead, that venue is proper, and that the proceeding was commenced within the limitation prescribed by AS 13.16.040, it sh…
AS 13.16.185 Formal testacy proceedings; probate of more than one instrument.
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If two or more instruments are offered for probate before a final order is entered in a formal testacy proceeding, more than one instrument may be probated if neither expressly revokes the other or contains provisions that work a total revocation by implication. If more than one …
AS 13.16.190 Formal testacy proceedings; partial intestacy.
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If it becomes evident in the course of a formal testacy proceeding that, though one or more instruments are entitled to be probated, the decedent's estate is or may be partially intestate, the court shall enter an order to that effect.
AS 13.16.195 Formal testacy proceedings; effect of order; vacation.
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(a) Subject to appeal and subject to vacation as provided in this section and in AS 13.16.200, a formal testacy order under AS 13.16.180 — 13.16.190, including an order that the decedent did not leave a valid will and determining heirs, is final as to all persons with respect to …
AS 13.16.200 Formal testacy proceedings; vacation of order for other cause.
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For good cause shown, an order in a formal testacy proceeding may be modified or vacated within the time allowed for appeal.
AS 13.16.205 Formal proceedings concerning appointment of personal representative.
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Article 5. Supervised Administration. (a) A formal proceeding for adjudication regarding the priority or qualification of one who is an applicant for appointment as personal representative, or of one who previously has been appointed personal representative in informal proceeding…
AS 13.16.215 Supervised administration; nature of proceeding.
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Supervised administration is a single in rem proceeding to secure complete administration and settlement of a decedent's estate under the continuing authority of the court which extends until entry of an order approving distribution of the estate and discharging the personal repr…
AS 13.16.220 Supervised administration; petition; order.
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A petition for supervised administration may be filed by any interested person or by a personal representative at any time or the prayer for supervised administration may be joined with a petition in a testacy or appointment proceeding. If the testacy of the decedent and the prio…
AS 13.16.225 Supervised administration; effect on other proceedings.
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(a) The pendency of a proceeding for supervised administration of a decedent's estate stays action on any informal application then pending or thereafter filed. (b) If a will has been previously probated in informal proceedings, the effect of the filing of a petition for supervis…
AS 13.16.230 Supervised administration; powers of personal representative.
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Unless restricted by the court, a supervised personal representative has, without interim orders approving exercise of a power, all powers of personal representatives under AS 13.06 — AS 13.36, but a supervised personal representative may not exercise the power to make any distri…
AS 13.16.235 Supervised administration; interim orders; distribution and closing orders.
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Article 6. Personal Representative; Appointment, Control and Termination of Authority. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, supervised administration is terminated by order in accordance with time restrictions, notices, and contents of orders prescribed for proceedings under AS…
AS 13.16.245 Qualification.
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Before receiving letters, a personal representative shall qualify by filing with the appointing court any required bond and a statement of acceptance of the duties of the office.
AS 13.16.250 Acceptance of appointment; consent to jurisdiction.
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By accepting appointment, a personal representative submits personally to the jurisdiction of the court in any proceeding relating to the estate that may be instituted by any interested person. Notice of any proceeding shall be delivered to the personal representative, or mailed …
AS 13.16.255 Bond required; exceptions.
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A personal representative shall execute and file a bond with the registrar unless (1) the estate is testate and the will expressly waives surety bond as to the person qualifying as personal representative; (2) the devisees or the heirs file written waiver of surety bond; (3) the …
AS 13.16.260 Bond amount; security; procedure; reduction.
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If bond is required and the provisions of the will or order do not specify the amount, unless stated in the application or petition, the person qualifying shall file a statement under oath with the registrar indicating the person's best estimate of the value of the personal estat…
AS 13.16.265 Demand for bond by interested person.
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Any person apparently having an interest in the estate worth in excess of $1,000, or any creditor having a claim in excess of $1,000, may make a written demand that a personal representative give bond. The demand must be filed with the registrar and a copy mailed to the personal …
AS 13.16.270 Terms and conditions of bonds.
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(a) The following requirements and provisions apply to any bond required by AS 13.16.245 — 13.16.330: (1) bonds shall name the state as obligee for the benefit of persons interested in the estate and shall be conditioned upon the faithful discharge by the fiduciary of all duties …
AS 13.16.275 Order restraining personal representative.
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(a) On petition of any person who appears to have an interest in the estate, the court by temporary order may restrain a personal representative from performing specified acts of administration, disbursement, or distribution, or exercise of any powers or discharge of any duties o…