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Alaska’s intestacy statute contains a rule that exists nowhere else in American law. Alongside the ordinary spousal shares, AS § 13.12.102(b) sets a separate rule for Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act settlement stock — inalienable shares that cannot be freely transferred, and that pass entirely to a surviving spouse if there is no issue and one-half if there is. Alaska also has no estate tax, no inheritance tax, and a community property system you have to opt into. Handwritten wills are valid here. Online services prepare an Alaska-specific will for $199–$299.
Most Alaska adults can finish a legally valid will in under an hour.
Two witnesses, a signature, and clear wishes — that’s the whole requirement. An online service like Trust & Will prepares an Alaska-specific will with the witness pages ready to sign.
Disclosure: we earn a commission if you buy through the Trust & Will links here, at no extra cost to you. Complex situations belong with an attorney and we say so below.
Alaska Will Requirements (2026)
| Requirement | Alaska rule | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| In writing | Required — Alaska has adopted no electronic wills act | § 13.12.502(a) |
| Signed | By you, or in your name by another in your conscious presence and at your direction | § 13.12.502(a) |
| Witnessed | At least two individuals, each signing within a reasonable time after witnessing your signing or your acknowledgment — they need not be together | § 13.12.502(a) |
| Notarized | Not required for validity | § 13.12.504 |
Who can make a will: 18 or older and of sound mind (§ 13.12.501).
Handwritten wills are valid. Under § 13.12.502(b), a will that does not comply with the formalities is valid as a holographic will, whether or not witnessed, if the signature and material portions are in your handwriting. No date required.
Alaska’s witness rule is among the most forgiving in the country — no mutual presence, no publication requirement, and a reasonable-time window. That matters more here than elsewhere: assembling two disinterested adults in a village off the road system is not always simple, and Alaska’s rules do not make it harder than it needs to be.
Electronic wills are not authorized. Alaska has not adopted the Uniform Electronic Wills Act. An online service can prepare your Alaska will; the signing happens on paper.
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act Stock Has Its Own Inheritance Rule
This is the provision that makes Alaska genuinely different from all forty-nine other states, and it belongs in any honest Alaska will guide.
Under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, Alaska Native people received shares in regional and village corporations. Much of that settlement stock is inalienable — it cannot be sold or freely transferred. Because it cannot be liquidated or divided like ordinary property, Alaska carves it out of the normal intestacy math entirely.
Alaska Stat. § 13.12.102(b) provides that the surviving spouse’s share of inalienable settlement stock is:
- All of it, if the decedent leaves no surviving issue; and
- One-half of it, if the decedent is survived by issue.
Note how that differs from the ordinary rules below: no dollar thresholds, no distinction based on whose children they are, and no possibility of the spouse taking everything where issue survive. It is a two-line rule for a category of property that behaves unlike anything else in an estate.
If your estate includes ANCSA shares, this is an attorney conversation, not a form. Corporation bylaws, federal restrictions on who may hold settlement stock, and the interaction with a will’s residuary clause all sit on top of the statute. An online will is not the tool for it.
Alaska Is Not a Community Property State — Unless You Opt In
Alaska is frequently miscategorized, and it is worth being precise. Alaska is a common law property state by default. Under the Alaska Community Property Act, a married couple may elect community property treatment — by agreement between them, or by transferring assets into a community property trust.
That opt-in structure is unusual, and it exists largely for the federal tax advantage: community property receives a full basis step-up on both halves at the first death. But it does not happen automatically. Unless you and your spouse affirmatively elected it, Alaska intestacy runs the ordinary way — do not reason about your estate as though Alaska worked like Nevada, Idaho or New Mexico.
Dying Without a Will in Alaska
| Your situation | What your spouse receives |
|---|---|
| No descendant and no parent survive you | The entire intestate estate |
| All your descendants are your spouse’s, and your spouse has no others | The entire intestate estate |
| No descendant, but a parent survives | First $200,000 + 3/4 of the balance |
| All your descendants are shared, but your spouse has other descendants | First $150,000 + 1/2 of the balance |
| You have a descendant who isn’t your spouse’s | First $100,000 + 1/2 of the balance |
| Inalienable ANCSA settlement stock: all of it if no issue survive; one-half if issue survive (§ 13.12.102(b)) | |
All from § 13.12.102. Alaska keeps a preferential amount in every scenario, but the dollar figures are lower than most UPC states — North Dakota starts at $300,000 where Alaska starts at $200,000, and Hawaii starts at $400,000.
Alaska Has No Death Tax
Alaska has no estate tax and no inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax can reach an Alaska estate, and it applies to very few. Compare the states in our state-by-state comparison.
What a Will Costs in Alaska
| Route | Typical cost | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Handwritten | $0 | Valid if the signature and material portions are in your hand — no date needed, but the most-contested format |
| Online service | $199 individual / $299 couple | Alaska-specific will with witness pages, done in about an hour |
| Alaska attorney | Flat fees vary — Anchorage runs above smaller communities | Custom drafting and counsel — the right route if ANCSA shares, a Native allotment, or a limited entry permit are involved |
Online pricing verified against Trust & Will’s published rates (August 2026). The Alaska Bar Association publishes no fee survey, so we quote no attorney figures we can’t source. See how Alaska compares with the rest of the country.
What an Alaska Will Does Not Do
1. A will does not avoid probate. Alaska probate is a superior court process on the public record, though informal probate handles most uncontested estates. See what a living trust costs in Alaska and our guide to avoiding probate.
2. A will does not settle what happens to restricted property. ANCSA settlement stock, Native allotments and commercial fishing limited entry permits each carry their own transfer restrictions that sit outside ordinary will drafting.
3. A will does not cover incapacity, and does not override beneficiary designations. Pair it with a durable power of attorney and an advance health care directive — see the five documents every family needs.
Will vs. Trust for Alaska Families
Every Alaska adult needs a will — no default rule names a guardian for your children, and the intestacy ladder splits the estate once anyone has children from an earlier relationship.
With no state death tax, the Alaska trust question is about probate avoidance, privacy, out-of-state property, and Alaska’s own well-developed trust law — the state is a destination jurisdiction for trusts, which is a different question from whether you need one. Start with Trust vs. Will: Which Does Your Family Need? and the numbers in our Alaska living trust cost guide.
If the will is what you need today, Trust & Will’s Alaska package includes the witness pages, guardianship nominations, and healthcare documents — build your Alaska will here.
FAQ
Does a will have to be notarized in Alaska?
No. Validity takes your signature and two witnesses, each signing within a reasonable time after witnessing your signing or acknowledgment (§ 13.12.502). The notary appears only in the optional self-proving affidavit (§ 13.12.504).
Are handwritten wills legal in Alaska?
Yes, with no witnesses, if the signature and material portions are in your handwriting (§ 13.12.502(b)). No date is required.
Can I make an electronic will in Alaska?
No. Alaska has not adopted the Uniform Electronic Wills Act.
What happens to ANCSA settlement stock if I die without a will?
Alaska Stat. § 13.12.102(b) gives the surviving spouse all of the decedent’s inalienable settlement stock if no issue survive, and one-half if the decedent is survived by issue. Settlement stock is treated separately from the rest of the estate because it cannot be freely transferred.
Is Alaska a community property state?
Not by default. Alaska is a common law property state, but the Alaska Community Property Act lets a married couple opt in by agreement or through a community property trust. Unless you elected it, ordinary intestacy rules apply.
Does Alaska have an estate or inheritance tax?
No. Alaska has neither.
Alaska Law Cited on This Page
- Alaska Stat. § 13.12.502 — execution; witnessed wills; holographic wills
- Alaska Stat. § 13.12.102 — share of spouse, including ANCSA settlement stock at subsection (b)
Update log — August 2026: page created. A note on sourcing: Alaska serves Title 13 through a legacy document viewer that did not return statute text to us, so the provisions above were read from a published reproduction of the Alaska Statutes rather than a state-run page, and cross-checked across sources. Reviewed when Alaska law changes.