Title 13 — Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions
37 chapters · 866 sections in this title.
AS 13.12.402 Homestead allowance.
0.6K chars
A decedent's surviving spouse is entitled to a homestead allowance of $27,000. If there is no surviving spouse, each minor child and each dependent child of the decedent is entitled to a homestead allowance amounting to $27,000 divided by the number of minor and dependent childre…
AS 13.12.403 Exempt property.
1.2K chars
In addition to the homestead allowance, the decedent's surviving spouse is entitled from the estate to a value, not exceeding $10,000 in excess of security interests in the items, in household furniture, automobiles, furnishings, appliances, and personal effects. If there is no s…
AS 13.12.404 Family allowance.
1.4K chars
(a) In addition to the right to homestead allowance and exempt property, the decedent's surviving spouse and minor children whom the decedent was obligated to support and children who were in fact being supported by the decedent are entitled to a reasonable allowance in money out…
AS 13.12.405 Source, determination, and documentation.
1.7K chars
Article 5. Wills, Will Contracts, and Custody and Deposit of Wills. (a) If the estate is otherwise sufficient, property specifically devised may not be used to satisfy rights to homestead allowance or exempt property. Subject to this restriction, the surviving spouse, guardians o…
AS 13.12.501 Who may make will.
0.1K chars
An individual 18 or more years of age who is of sound mind may make a will.
AS 13.12.502 Execution; witnessed wills; holographic wills.
0.8K chars
(a) Except as provided in (b) of this section, AS 13.06.068, AS 13.12.506, and 13.12.513, a will must be (1) in writing; (2) signed by the testator or in the testator's name by another individual in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction; and (3) signed…
AS 13.12.504 Self-proved will.
3.9K chars
(a) A will may be simultaneously executed, attested, and made self-proved, by acknowledgment of the will by the testator and affidavits of the witnesses, each made before an officer authorized to administer oaths under the laws of the state in which execution occurs and evidenced…
AS 13.12.505 Who may witness.
0.2K chars
(a) An individual generally competent to be a witness may act as a witness to a will. (b) The signing of a will by an interested witness does not invalidate the will or a provision of it.
AS 13.12.506 Choice of law as to execution.
0.4K chars
Except as provided by AS 13.06.068, a written will is valid if executed in compliance with AS 13.12.502 or if its execution complies with the law at the time of execution of the place where the will is executed or of the law of the place where, at the time of execution or at the …
AS 13.12.507 Revocation by writing or by act.
1.8K chars
(a) A will or a part of a will is revoked (1) by executing a subsequent will that revokes the previous will or part expressly or by inconsistency; or (2) by performing a revocatory act on the will, if the testator performed the act with the intent and for the purpose of revoking …
AS 13.12.508 Revocation by change of circumstances.
0.1K chars
Except as provided in AS 13.12.803 and 13.12.804, a change of circumstances does not revoke a will or a part of it.
AS 13.12.509 Revival of revoked will.
1.2K chars
(a) If a subsequent will that wholly revoked a previous will is thereafter revoked by a revocatory act under AS 13.12.507(a)(2), the previous will remains revoked unless it is revived. The previous will is revived if it is evident from the circumstances of the revocation of the s…
AS 13.12.510 Incorporation by reference.
0.2K chars
A writing in existence when a will is executed may be incorporated by reference if the language of the will manifests this intent and describes the writing sufficiently to permit its identification.
AS 13.12.511 Testamentary additions to trusts.
1.6K chars
(a) A will may validly devise property to the trustee of a trust established or to be established (1) during the testator's lifetime by the testator, by the testator and some other person, or by some other person, including a funded or unfunded life insurance trust, although the …
AS 13.12.512 Events of independent significance.
0.3K chars
A will may dispose of property by reference to acts and events that have significance apart from their effect upon the dispositions made by the will, whether they occur before or after the execution of the will or before or after the testator's death. The execution or revocation …
AS 13.12.513 Separate writing identifying devise of certain types of tangible personal property.
0.8K chars
Whether or not the provisions relating to holographic wills apply, a will may refer to a written statement or list to dispose of items of tangible personal property not otherwise specifically disposed of by the will, other than money. To be admissible under this section as eviden…
AS 13.12.514 Contracts concerning succession.
0.5K chars
(a) A contract to make a will or devise, or not to revoke a will or devise, or to die intestate, if executed after January 1, 1997, may be established only by (1) provisions of a will stating material provisions of the contract; (2) an express reference in a will to a contract an…
AS 13.12.515 Deposit of will with court in testator's lifetime.
0.6K chars
A will may be deposited by the testator or the testator's agent with a court for safekeeping, under rules of the court. During the testator's lifetime, the will must be kept confidential. During the testator's lifetime, a deposited will shall be delivered only to the testator or …
AS 13.12.516 Duty of custodian of will; liability.
0.7K chars
After the death of a testator and on request of an interested person, a person having custody of a will of the testator shall deliver it with reasonable promptness to a person able to secure its probate and, if the person with custody does not know of a person able to secure the …
AS 13.12.517 Penalty clause for contest.
0.0K chars
[Repealed or reserved.]
AS 13.12.530 Establishment of will validity before death.
0.3K chars
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…
AS 13.12.535 Establishment of trust validity before death.
0.3K chars
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 …
AS 13.12.540 Venue.
0.6K chars
(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.…
AS 13.12.545 Contents of petition for will validity.
1.6K chars
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…
AS 13.12.550 Contents of petition for trust validity.
1.2K chars
(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…
AS 13.12.555 Declaration by court.
0.4K chars
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…
AS 13.12.560 Binding effect of declaration.
0.4K chars
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…
AS 13.12.565 Hearing and notice.
0.9K chars
(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…
AS 13.12.570 Burden of proof.
0.4K chars
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,…
AS 13.12.575 Change to will after declaration.
0.3K chars
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…
AS 13.12.580 Change to trust after declaration.
0.2K chars
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.
AS 13.12.585 Confidentiality.
1.2K chars
(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…
AS 13.12.590 Definitions.
0.3K chars
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.
AS 13.12.601 Scope.
0.2K chars
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.
AS 13.12.602 Will may pass all property and after-acquired property.
0.1K chars
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.
AS 13.12.603 Antilapse; deceased devisee; class gifts.
5.8K chars
(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…
AS 13.12.604 Failure of testamentary provision.
0.4K chars
(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 …
AS 13.12.605 Increase in securities; accessions.
1.0K chars
(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…
AS 13.12.606 Nonademption of specific devises.
2.0K chars
(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…
AS 13.12.607 Nonexoneration.
0.2K chars
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.
AS 13.12.608 Exercise of power of appointment.
0.6K chars
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…
AS 13.12.609 Ademption by satisfaction.
1.1K chars
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…
AS 13.12.701 Scope.
0.4K chars
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…
AS 13.12.702 Requirement of survival by 120 hours.
5.8K chars
(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…
AS 13.12.703 Choice of law as to meaning and effect of governing instrument.
0.5K chars
(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 …
AS 13.12.704 Power of appointment; meaning of specific reference requirement.
0.4K chars
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 …
AS 13.12.705 Class gifts; terms of relationship.
1.4K chars
(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…
AS 13.12.706 Life insurance; retirement plan; account with pay on death designation; transfer on death registration; deceased beneficiary.
8.3K chars
(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…
AS 13.12.707 Survivorship with respect to future interests under terms of trust; substitute takers.
7.3K chars
(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…
AS 13.12.708 Class gifts to “descendants,” “issue,” or “heirs of the body”; form of distribution if none specified.
0.5K chars
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…