Alaska Court System Self-Help

Probate is a court process to transfer property owned by the person who died to the persons who are supposed to receive the property. A probate allows a Personal Representative to transfer legal title of that property to the proper persons. It involves several steps:

• Appointing a Personal Representative to handle 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 persons who are supposed to receive it.
• Filing any documents required by the state or federal government.
• Filing all documents required by the court.

You can watch a very short presentation on the Introduction to Probate .

A probate is required when a person dies and owns property that does not automatically pass to someone else, or the estate doesn't qualify to use the Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property procedure. A probate may also be necessary to handle claims against the person who died or the person's property, to settle disagreements between beneficiaries or heirs, to appoint a Guardian of a minor child or for other reasons. There are two ways you can transfer title to the property of someone who died without a probate, (1) Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property, and (2) Nonprobate Transfers.

You can watch a very short presentation on Probate Options .

No. Only property owned by the person who died which does not pass automatically to a survivor must go through probate. The title to some property passes to a survivor without filing anything with the court. This type of property is called nonprobate property. It might include property held jointly with another person if there is a right of survivorship, real property with a Transfer on Death Deed, life insurance benefits, retirement benefits or property held by a revocable trust.

The court appoints a Personal Representative to handle the probate process. The Personal Representative is usually a family member or friend of the person who died but can be an organization such as a bank or trust company. The Personal Representative is required to keep the court informed of the progress of the probate. For more information, see Personal Representative Duties and Responsibilities.

There may be some things that you cannot do unless there is an open probate case in court. Opening a probate case can give you legal authority to take some actions as the Personal Representative. If the person who died set up their finances, accounts, and assets so that they automatically transfer to named beneficiaries upon death, you may not need to open a probate case. So it really depends on whether you need authority from the court to take actions or access information about the estate of the person who died.

No. Alaska law lists who has priority. Read Who can be the Personal Representative?

No. The probate process is generally the same whether or not the person who died left a Will. A probate probate is required to transfer property that does not automatically pass to someone else unless the estate qualifies to use the Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property procedure

While the process is the same, having a will affects who the property passes to. A Will allows the person who died to decide who receives his or her probate property and under what conditions. A person who made a Will is said to have died "testate." The property usually passes to the beneficiaries named in the Will. For more information, see Wills.

If the person who died did not have a will, Alaska law lists how the property is passed to their heirs. A person who did not make a Will is said to have died "intestate." For more information, see Death Without a Will - Intestacy.

Probate usually takes between six months and a year to finish, but often longer. A probate may take more time if there are debts to handle, disagreements between the beneficiaries or heirs, problems finding or transferring property or other complicated matters.

No. But it can be a good idea if the probate is complicated. A lawyer can help you file the right paperwork, meet deadlines and avoid mistakes and delays. A lawyer can also help if there are debts, creditor claims or disagreements between family members, beneficiaries or heirs.

You can follow the suggestions in the section on Probate Resources. Some lawyers handle the entire probate process which can be very helpful if you feel overwhelmed or the estate is complicated. But if you feel confident that you can handle parts of the probate, some lawyers provide "unbundled services" which means that they will give advice only when you need it or handle only those parts of a probate with which you ask for help.

Yes. You can transfer title to the property of someone who died without a probate in the following ways:

1. Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property
   You can transfer title to the person's property using a special document called an Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property If the person who died:
   • did not own any real property, owned real property held jointly with another person with a right of survivorship, or owned real property that automatically transferred title through a Transfer on Death Deed,
   • the value of their vehicles is less than $100,000, and
   • the value of all other personal property is less than $50,000, and
   • certain other conditions are met
   You do not have to file anything with the court. Read more about the Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property.
2. Nonprobate Transfers
   If the person who died held the property with someone else who had a right of survivorship or if they named someone else to automatically inherit the property, title can be transferred to the survivor without probate. For example, before the person dies, he or she can record a Transfer on Death Deed for real property which transfers property to named beneficiary(ies) effective on the transferor’s death without probate. In addition, proceeds from life insurance policies and retirement accounts transfer to named beneficiaries without probate.

You can watch a very short presentation on Probate Options .

Answer: If you have not opened any probate and it has been more than three years since the person died, you have the following options:

• If the person who died did not make a will, or did not make a valid Will, you can ask the court to "determine the heirs" of the person who died using the rules of intestacy. This is a simple proceeding in formal probate, which requires notice but not usually a hearing if all of the heirs consent to the proceeding. The court will issue an order that lists the rightful heirs of the decedent. This order can be used to transfer some types of property to the heirs.
• If the person who died left a Will, you can ask the court for a limited testacy, proceeding in formal probate if the person who died left a Will. The court will decide who should inherit the property of the person who died under the Will. This requires notice and usually a hearing.
• You can ask the court to appoint a Personal Representative with very limited powers in either informal probate or formal probate. The Personal Representative can transfer the property of the person who died to the rightful persons. However, they have no power to do anything else, such as deal with creditor claims, wrap up business affairs, or file other documents.

You may be able to open a probate after three years for a few other reasons. However, if it has been more than three years since the person died, it is a good idea to talk to a probate lawyer.

In the Getting Started section, you will find information about the different steps, including a timeline.