A house or land without probate in Alaska
An owner can sign a transfer on death deed so real property passes to a named beneficiary at death without probate, subject to any liens or mortgages. It must be recorded before the owner's death at the recorder's office in the recording district where the property is.
Checked against official sources: October 30, 2026.
Transfer-on-death (TOD) and payable-on-death (POD) in Alaska
- Real estate (TOD deed)
Yes · Transfer on death deed
An owner can sign a transfer on death deed so real property passes to a named beneficiary at death without probate, subject to any liens or mortgages. It must be recorded before the owner's death at the recorder's office in the recording district where the property is. It can be revoked at any time.
Law: AS 13.48.010-13.48.060 (esp. 13.48.050)
Source: Official page
Does real estate count toward the small estate limit?
| Kind of property | How it is treated | Details |
|---|---|---|
Real estate in Alaska | Counts | If the person owned any real estate, of any value, that did not pass automatically to someone else, the affidavit cannot be used. Law: AS 13.16.680(a)(1) |
Main home (primary residence) | Counts | A home in the person's name that did not pass automatically (by tenancy by the entirety or a transfer on death deed) means the affidavit cannot be used. Law: AS 13.16.680(a)(1) |
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
Who inherits with no will in Alaska
If there is no will, the surviving spouse gets everything if the person left no descendants or parents, or if all the person's descendants are also the spouse's and the spouse has no other descendants. Otherwise the spouse gets $200,000 plus three-fourths of the rest (no descendants but a parent survives), $150,000 plus one-half (the spouse has other descendants), or $100,000 plus one-half (the person has descendants who are not the spouse's). The rest goes to descendants, then parents, then brothers and sisters and their descendants, then grandparents' families. Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act stock has its own rule.
Law: AS 13.12.102, 13.12.103
Source: Official page
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.
- Alaska Court System Self-Help Center
- Alaska Legal Services Corporation
- Alaska Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service
- Alaska Court System: Collecting Personal Property without a Court Case
- Alaska Court System: Small Estate Informal Probate
- Alaska Court System: Transferring Asset Ownership
- Alaska DMV: Deceased owner
- LawHelp.org
- Legal Services Corporation (LSC) - Find legal aid
- Eldercare Locator · 1-800-677-1116
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (debt collection and mortgage complaints) · (855) 411-2372