What to gather for a small estate in Alaska

Pick a procedure and check off what you already have. Download or print the list to take with you.

Papers most holders ask for
Papers for this procedure: Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of Decedent (court form P-110)
Other formats

Your checklist

Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of Decedent (court form P-110)

A sworn statement you give to a bank, business or person holding the person's property, so they pay or deliver it to you. It is not filed with the court.

Limit

Up to $50,000 Counted after subtracting liens (what is owed on the property).

Personal property other than vehicles: $50,000 or less after liens. Vehicles subject to Alaska registration (cars, motorcycles, trucks, trailers, and manufactured homes not permanently attached to land): $100,000 or less in total after liens. The person must not have owned any real estate, unless it passed automatically to someone else.

What counts

The entire estate, wherever located, minus liens and encumbrances, may consist only of: vehicles that must be registered in Alaska worth $100,000 or less in total, and other personal property worth $50,000 or less. The estate cannot include any real estate, unless it passed automatically to someone else (tenancy by the entirety or a transfer on death deed). Nonprobate property, such as a joint bank account, is not counted.

Waiting period

At least 30 days must have passed since the death.

Who can use it

A 'successor': anyone other than a creditor who is entitled to the person's property under the will or Alaska inheritance law, for example a beneficiary named in the will or an heir if there is no will. The court self-help page also lists the personal representative named in the will. No probate case or petition to appoint a personal representative can be pending or granted anywhere.

Court or where to file

Not filed with the court. You give a copy to each person or business holding the property.

Notary

Sign under oath before a notary or a court clerk. Notary services are free at all Alaska court locations.

Papers to attach
  • Copy of the death certificate (the holder may ask to see it)
  • For a vehicle: DMV Form 827 (or a similar notarized statement with the VIN) and Form V1 Vehicle Transaction Application
Steps
  1. Wait until at least 30 days after the death.
  2. Make sure no probate case has been started and the person had no real estate that needs probate.
  3. Add up the vehicles and the other personal property separately, minus liens; vehicles must total $100,000 or less and other property $50,000 or less.
  4. Fill in form P-110 and sign it under oath before a notary or court clerk.
  5. Give a copy to each holder of the property, with a death certificate if asked.
  6. Give the property to the people entitled to it under the will or inheritance law; you cannot keep property that belongs to others.
Fee

There is no court filing fee because the affidavit is not filed with the court. DMV charges title fees for a vehicle (see its fee calculator).

Debts and responsibility

The person who receives property by affidavit is answerable and accountable for it to any personal representative later appointed and to anyone with a superior right. If a personal representative is appointed later, the property must be given to the personal representative.

What the bank or holder must do

A person or business shown a proper affidavit must pay or deliver the property, and a transfer agent must re-register securities. The holder is discharged and released as if it had dealt with a personal representative and does not have to check the statements. If the holder refuses, the property can be recovered in a court proceeding.

Law: AS 13.16.680, 13.16.685; AS 13.06.050(48)

Source: Official page

Death certificates in Alaska

Certified death certificates are available from the Health Analytics and Vital Records Section, P.O. Box 110675, Juneau, AK 99811-0675. The CDC directory lists the fee as $30.00 per copy; check the current fee with the office.

Where to get it
Alaska Department of Health, Health Analytics and Vital Records Section
Official page
Official page

Car or vehicle title after a death in Alaska

If the person owned the vehicle alone or with 'AND', and the estate qualifies as a small estate (vehicles $100,000 or less and other personal property $50,000 or less, after liens), a successor can transfer the vehicle with DMV Form 827, Affidavit for an Estate with Assets of $150,000 or Less (or a similar notarized statement with the same information), at least 30 days after the death. The original notarized affidavit with the VIN is submitted with a Vehicle Transaction Application, and the successor must title the vehicle in their own name before selling it. If the title says 'OR', the surviving owner can release the title without documents about the person who died. Otherwise the vehicle goes through probate and the court-appointed personal representative signs.

Law: AS 13.16.680; AS 13.33.401 and AS 28.10.275 (SB 104, ch. 12 SLA 2026, effective July 1, 2026)

Source: Form V1

Agency
Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
Form
DMV Form 827 Affidavit for an Estate with Assets of $150,000 or Less (Rev. 1/2018)
Waiting period
30 days after the death
Value limit
Up to $100,000
Fee

DMV title fees can be calculated with the Alaska Registration Fee Calculator.

Transfer-on-death title

Since July 1, 2026, a sole owner, or all joint owners, can apply to the DMV for a transfer on death title for a vehicle or boat naming one or two beneficiaries, and pay a fee. The owner can change or revoke it during life; a will cannot change it. After the owner dies, the beneficiary gives the DMV proof of death (such as a death certificate), an application on the DMV form and the title fee. The beneficiary takes the vehicle subject to liens and, if the probate estate is not enough, to claims against the estate.

Source: Official page

Surviving spouse in Alaska

Tangible personal property, such as furnishings and belongings, usually passes automatically to a surviving spouse because spouses are assumed to hold it as tenants by the entirety, so nothing needs to be done to transfer it; real estate held by spouses as tenants by the entirety also passes automatically. In a probate, the spouse is entitled to the homestead allowance, family allowance and exempt property, which can make an estate qualify for the small estate procedure. With no will, the spouse inherits everything if all the person's descendants are also the spouse's.

Law: AS 13.16.690; AS 13.12.102

Source: Alaska Court System self-help

Related pages

Free help in Alaska

A court self-help center or a legal aid office can check whether the estate qualifies, free of charge or at low cost.