Wills and probate in Alaska

What makes a will valid in Alaska

An Alaska will usually needs a writing, a testator who is an adult of sound mind, the testator's signature, and two witnesses. Alaska court guidance treats these elements as the usual baseline for validity.

• The will is in writing.
• The testator is an adult of sound mind.
• The testator signs the will.
• Two witnesses see or hear the testator acknowledge the signature.

Documents a will can refer to

Alaska law lets a will incorporate a writing that existed when the will was executed. The will has to indicate that intent and identify the writing sufficiently.

A will may also refer to a signed writing or list to dispose of certain tangible personal property. The list has to identify the items and the devisees with reasonable certainty.

A change of circumstances does not revoke a will or part of it under Alaska law, subject to the stated statutory exceptions.

Alaska also has a statute for succession contracts. The statute calls for specified will provisions, a will reference plus extrinsic evidence, or a writing signed by the decedent.

Intestacy and partial intestacy

Property that a will does not effectively dispose of passes by intestate succession in Alaska, subject to the will's modifications. With a partial intestacy, the Alaska court system says property outside the will passes through intestacy, while the rest passes under that document.

A surviving spouse receives the entire estate in specified cases. Examples include when no descendant or parent survives, or when all surviving descendants are shared with the decedent and the spouse has no other surviving descendants.

In other cases the spouse's share depends on which relatives survive. Those shares include specified dollar amounts plus a fraction of the balance.

Stepparents, stepchildren and stepsiblings do not inherit under Alaska intestacy, however long the stepfamily lived together.

The 120 hour survivorship rule

Alaska generally treats an individual who fails to survive a decedent by 120 hours as having predeceased the decedent. The treatment applies for specified succession and allowance purposes.

Gifts made before death

Alaska guidance says heirs generally receive gifts made before death plus inherited property. The heir's share is reduced if the decedent wrote at the time of the gift that the share is to be reduced, or if the heir agreed in writing.

The surviving spouse's elective share

A surviving spouse of a decedent domiciled in Alaska may elect an amount equal to one-third of the augmented estate. Statutory limitations and conditions apply to that election.

For a decedent domiciled outside Alaska, the law of the domicile governs any elective-share right in Alaska property.

Informal and formal probate

Alaska intestacy guidance says most no-will cases use informal probate.

Estate tax clauses in wills and trusts

Alaska law addresses will, trust or beneficiary designation provisions that are written around federal estate tax liability. Those provisions work by reference to the unified credit, the applicable exclusion amount, or the exemption equivalent.

Common questions