Alaska Court System Self-Help

Informal probate is a court process that allows the Personal Representative to transfer the property of a person who died to the persons who are supposed to receive it with minimal court supervision. If a probate is necessary, this is the most common type.

An informal probate includes these steps:

• Appointing a Personal Representative to manage the probate.
• Gathering property owned by the person who died.
• Notifying creditors and beneficiaries or heirs.
• Handling debts and taxes.
• Wrapping up the final business affairs of the person who died.
• Transferring legal title of the property owned by the person who died to the proper persons.
• Filing any documents required by the state or federal government.
• Filing all documents required by the court.

In an informal probate, the Personal Representative can take these steps without asking the court for approval. Informal probate is simpler than formal probate. In fact, informal probate cases usually don’t require any hearings.

This section covers what to do when you want to (1) open an informal probate and (2) appoint a Personal Representative. If you want to do only one of these things or if one of these things has already been done, it is a good idea to talk to a probate lawyer.

You can watch a very short presentation on Starting an Informal Probate Case .

Alaska law establishes who has priority to serve as the personal representative of an estate.

This list shows the priority from highest to lowest:

1. the will named you as the personal representative;
2. you are the surviving spouse named in will to receive property;
3. you are named in the will to receive property;
4. you are the surviving spouse but there was no will or the will did not name you to receive property;
5. there was no will but you have the right to inherit property from the person who died;
6. you are a creditor.

Sometimes people who have priority to serve as the personal representative for an estate do not want to serve and instead want to nominate someone with equal or lower priority to be the personal representative.

Each person who has equal or higher priority over the nominated person must consent to the nominated person being the personal representative by filling out Nomination for Appointment of Personal Representative with Equal or Lower Priority, P-306. The person nominated to serve as the personal representative should file all completed Nomination forms with their request to start probate and appoint a personal representative with the court.

To qualify for informal probate, you must meet all of these requirements:

• It has been three years or less since the person died.
• If the person who died made a Will, you have the original Will.
• If the person who died made more than one Will, the latest Will cancels (revokes) the older Wills.
• If the person who died didn't have a will, there is no dispute among the interested persons about who will be the Personal Representative.
• You have priority to be the Personal Representative.
• No one has objected to the informal probate or your appointment as Personal Representative.

Some estates are small enough that they have fewer requirements and are called “small estates.” To determine if the estate qualifies as a small estate, prepare an Inventory of all property to determine the value. Then, add up the following:

• Homestead Allowance
• Family Allowance
• Exempt Property
• Probate costs
• Funeral costs
• Medical costs of the person's last illness

If the total value of all estate property in the Inventory, after subtracting liens and debts against the property, is less than all of the above amounts added together, the estate qualifies as a small estate. Learn more about Small Estates.

If you do not meet the requirements for either informal probate or a small estate, you will usually need to petition for formal probate.

You will need to gather the following documents and file them with the court:

• Certified copy of the Death Certificate. Some judges will accept a letter from the funeral home if the death certificate is not yet available.
• Original Will if the person who died made a Will. If you are not sure if the person made a will, you will need to try to find it by looking in some of the common locations.

You will need to prepare the following documents and file them with the court. The forms you use depends on whether the person who died made a will:

Person Who Died Made a Will

• Request to Start Informal Probate and Appoint a Personal Representative When There Is a Will, P-315
• Statement Starting Informal Probate and Appointing a Personal Representative When There is a Will, P-316
• Acceptance of Duties by Personal Representative and Letters Testamentary by Court, P-335
• If there are people with equal or higher priority to be the personal representative than you, file Nomination for Appointment of Personal Representative with Equal or Lower Priority, P-306, for each person with an equal or higher priority. These people must sign the form and can also waive the bond requirement (see bullet point below) using this form.
• For the bond requirement, do one of the following:
  • If the will waived the bond requirement, then you do not need to file a bond or file any additional forms, or
  • File proof that you posted a bond, or
  • For each person eligible to inherit property that did not already waive the bond requirement in form P-306, discussed above, file a separate Waiver of Bond Requirement, P-334 signed by each devisee named in the will.
• Filing Fee or fee waiver if you cannot afford the fee.

Person Who Died Did NOT Make a Will

• Request to Start Informal Probate and Appoint a Personal Representative When There Is No Will, P-325
• Statement Starting Informal Probate and Appointing a Personal Representative When There is No Will, P-326
• Acceptance of Duties by Personal Representative and Letters of Administration by Court, P-336
• If there are people with equal or higher priority to be the personal representative than you, file Nomination for Appointment of Personal Representative with Equal or Lower Priority, P-306, for each person with an equal or higher priority. These people must sign the form and can also waive the bond requirement (see bullet point below) using this form.
• For the bond requirement, do one of the following:
  • File proof that you posted a bond, or
  • For each person eligible to inherit property that did not already waive the bond requirement in form P-306, discussed above, file a separate Waiver of Bond Requirement, P-334 signed by each heir.
• Filing Fee or fee waiver if you cannot afford the fee.

You can watch a very short presentation on Starting an Informal Probate Case .

You must file a document to ask the court to open an informal probate and appoint you as Personal Representative. The form you file depends on whether the person who died made a Will.

If the person who died made a Will, you can file:

Request to Start Informal Probate and Appoint a Personal Representative When There Is a Will, P-315, plus any forms listed on form P-315 that you need for your situation. See FAQ “How do I Get Started?” for more information.

If the person who died did NOT make a Will, you can file:

Request to Start Informal Probate and Appoint a Personal Representative When There Is No Will, P-325, plus any forms listed on form P-315 that you need for your situation. See FAQ “How do I Get Started?” for more information.

* Important: You must sign a verification under oath saying that all of these statements are true and complete to the best of your knowledge and belief. You can do this before a notary or a court clerk.

If you have any questions, you should talk to a probate lawyer.

You can watch a very short presentation on Starting an Informal Probate Case .

You must file a document that

1. states you accept your duties as Personal Representative, and
2. proves that you have the right to be the Personal Representative.

The form you file depends on whether the person who died made a will.

If the person who died made a Will, you can file:

Acceptance of Duties by Personal Representative and Letters Testamentary by Court, P-335.

If the person who died did NOT make a Will, you can file:

Acceptance of Duties by Personal Representative and Letters of Administration by Court, P-336.

Sign the Statement of Acceptance before a notary. Do not sign the Letters. Leave a space for the court to sign the Letters when it appoints you as Personal Representative.

If you have any questions, you should talk to a probate lawyer.

You can watch a very short presentation on Starting an Informal Probate Case .

Read more about filing a bond or waiving bond.

The court will not sign the Letters or appoint a Personal Representative until a certain amount of time has passed:

• If the person who died was an Alaska resident:
  • 5 days after the person's death.
• If the person who died was not an Alaska resident:
  • 30 days after the person's death; or
  • 5 days after the person's death but only if (1) the Will says that Alaska law applies to the probate or (2) you have already been appointed as the Personal Representative in another state.

After the waiting period, the court usually takes anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to approve and sign the Letters.

The court will mail the documents to you:

If the person who died made a Will, you will receive:

• A signed and certified copy of Acceptance of Duties by Personal Representative and Letters Testamentary by Court, P-335
• A signed and certified copy of the Statement Starting Informal Probate and Appointing a Personal Representative When There is a Will, P-316

If the person who died did NOT make a Will, you will receive:

• A signed and certified copy of Acceptance of Duties by Personal Representative and Letters of Administration by Court, P-336
• A signed and certified copy of the Statement Starting Informal Probate and Appointing a Personal Representative When There is No Will, P-326

You can also pick the documents up directly from the court if you need them sooner. Call the court to find out whether they are ready.

It is a good idea to ask for 3 to 5 extra certified copies of the Letters since you will need to show the Letters to companies when you transfer property owned by the person who died. Many companies will ask to keep a certified copy for their records. The court charges a small fee for extra certified copies of the Letters.

For information on how to use the Letters and your duties as Personal Representative, see Personal Representative Duties and Responsibilities.