Everything your estate plan needs to be valid in Alaska: execution requirements, the documents we generate, statutory citations, and the exact wording our generators insert.
Requirements at a glance
Document
Witnesses
Notary
Will
2 required
Recommended
Living trust
None required
Recommended
Power of attorney
None required
Required
Healthcare directive
2 required, or notary
Alternative to witnesses
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Alaska Stat. §13.12.505: an individual generally competent to be a witness may act as a witness to a will, and the signing of a will by an interested witness does not invalidate the will or a provision of it. Alaska follows the UPC rule and has no purge statute, so a gift to an attesting witness remains effective. Using witnesses who take nothing under the will is still the safer practice.
2
Living Trust
Witnesses: None required
No formal execution requirements beyond settlor signature; notarization strongly recommended when funding real property
Notarization: Recommended
Not legally required for the trust document, but needed to transfer real property
3
Durable Power of Attorney
Alaska Stat. §13.26.600 et seq.
Witnesses: None required
No witnesses required for power of attorney
Notarization: Required
Notarization is required for a valid durable power of attorney
State-specific notes
•Execution requires the principal's signature acknowledged before a notary public or other officer authorized to take acknowledgments (Alaska Stat. §13.26.600(a)). If the principal is physically unable to sign, the principal may direct another individual to sign in the principal's conscious presence (§13.26.600(a)(1), (b))
•DURABILITY IS OPT-IN, NOT DEFAULT. To survive the principal's later incapacity, the instrument must expressly state \"This power of attorney shall not be affected by the subsequent incapacity of the principal\" or \"This power of attorney shall become effective upon the incapacity of the principal,\" or substantially similar words (Alaska Stat. §13.26.675(a)). Alaska is the opposite of UPOAA states on this point: a POA silent as to durability terminates on incapacity
•The statutory form (Alaska Stat. §13.26.645) requires the principal to MARK ONE effectiveness election: effective on the date of signature, or effective on the date of incapacity ('and shall not otherwise be affected by my incapacity'). A second block ('This document shall not be affected by my subsequent incapacity' / 'This document shall be revoked by my subsequent incapacity') applies ONLY IF the signature-date election was chosen, because the form's own instruction reads 'IF YOU HAVE INDICATED THAT THIS DOCUMENT SHALL BECOME EFFECTIVE ON THE DATE OF YOUR SIGNATURE, MARK ONE OF THE FOLLOWING.' The incapacity-date election carries the durability language in the election itself (Alaska Stat. §13.26.675(a)). If the signature-date election is chosen and neither durability box is marked, the instrument lacks that durability language and terminates on incapacity. A further optional block lets a signature-date POA be limited to a stated term of years
•An agent may revoke a transfer on death deed only if a RECORDED power of attorney, or the transfer on death deed itself, expressly grants the agent that power (Alaska Stat. §13.48.070(e)). In the statutory form power of attorney the grant is made by marking 'revoke a transfer on death deed made under AS 13.48' in the GRANT OF SPECIFIC AUTHORITY section (Alaska Stat. §13.26.645), but that grant does not reach a TOD deed unless the power of attorney has itself been recorded. The revocation instrument must also be acknowledged by the transferor after the acknowledgment of the deed being revoked, and recorded before the transferor's death in the recording district where the deed is recorded (Alaska Stat. §13.48.070(a))
ViewWarning notice for the principal▾
GENERAL POWER OF ATTORNEY
THE POWERS GRANTED FROM THE PRINCIPAL TO THE AGENT OR AGENTS IN THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENT ARE VERY BROAD. THEY MAY INCLUDE THE POWER TO DISPOSE, SELL, CONVEY, AND ENCUMBER YOUR REAL AND PERSONAL PROPERTY. ACCORDINGLY, THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENT SHOULD ONLY BE USED AFTER CAREFUL CONSIDERATION. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT, YOU SHOULD SEEK COMPETENT ADVICE.
YOU MAY REVOKE THIS POWER OF ATTORNEY AT ANY TIME.
4
Advance Health Care Directive
Alaska Stat. §13.52.010 et seq.
Witnesses: 2 required, or notary
Alaska accepts either 2 witnesses or notarization
Notarization: Accepted as alternative
A notary public may be used in lieu of witnesses, but the acknowledgment must be taken before a notary public at a place in Alaska; a notarization taken outside Alaska does not satisfy this route (Alaska Stat. §13.52.010(b)(2)). The two-witness route carries no geographic limit (Alaska Stat. §13.52.010(b)(1)).
State-specific notes
•Agent restriction (Alaska Stat. §13.52.010(c)): unless related to the principal by blood, marriage, or adoption, the agent may not be an owner, operator, or employee of the health care institution at which the principal is receiving care
•Witness disqualifications (Alaska Stat. §13.52.010(d)): a witness may NOT be (1) a health care provider employed at the institution where the principal is receiving care, (2) an employee of the health care provider or the institution, or (3) the agent. Subsection (d) is written for witnesses, and by its terms it does not reach a notary taking an acknowledgment under §13.52.010(b)(2). Who may serve as notary is governed by Alaska's notary law rather than by this section
•At least one witness must be unrelated and disinterested (Alaska Stat. §13.52.010(e)): at least one of the two witnesses must be a person who is NOT related to the principal by blood, marriage, or adoption AND is NOT entitled to a portion of the principal's estate on the principal's death under a will or codicil of the principal existing at the time the durable power of attorney for health care is executed, or by operation of law then existing. The test is measured at the moment the directive is signed
•Execution may be by either two qualifying witnesses OR by notary acknowledgment (Alaska Stat. §13.52.010(b)); a notary acknowledgment satisfies execution alone and does not also require witnesses
•Witnesses must be personally known by the principal (Alaska Stat. §13.52.010(b)(1)): the two witnesses must be individuals the principal actually knows, not strangers recruited at the point of signing. A separately valid individual instruction survives even if the durable power of attorney portion fails these witnessing requirements (Alaska Stat. §13.52.010(l))
•The notary route is geographically limited (Alaska Stat. §13.52.010(b)(2)): the acknowledgment must be taken before a notary public AT A PLACE IN THIS STATE, so an out-of-state notarization does not satisfy the notary-only route. The two-witness route has no such limit (Alaska Stat. §13.52.010(b)(1))
ViewWitness disqualification recital▾
Alaska Stat. §13.52.010(d): a witness to a durable power of attorney for health care may not be a health care provider employed at the institution or facility where the principal is receiving health care, an employee of the provider treating the principal or of that institution or facility, or the agent. Under §13.52.010(e) at least one witness must be a single individual who is both not related to the principal by blood, marriage, or adoption and not entitled to a portion of the principal's estate under a will or codicil existing at execution or by operation of law then existing; the same witness must satisfy both conditions, which cannot be split between the two witnesses. Under §13.52.010(b)(1) both witnesses must be personally known by the principal. The §13.52.010(c) bar on an owner, operator, or employee of the health care institution at which the principal is receiving care restricts who may serve as agent, not who may witness, unless that person is related to the principal by blood, marriage, or adoption.
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6 more documents with a subscription
$29/year unlocks the documents below alongside the four free ones above. Your answers and documents are saved privately to your account, encrypted in your browser, so you can revise them any time life changes.
Disposition of Remains Authorization
Names the agent who controls funeral, burial, or cremation decisions, with optional preferences.
HIPAA Authorization
Stand-alone PHI release that survives death for the period you specify, separate from the in-life authorization in your healthcare directive.
Nomination of Conservator
Pre-nominates the person you want a court to appoint if a conservator (or guardian of the estate) is ever needed.
Business Succession Declaration
Identifies your interests in any closely-held businesses and how they should be transferred or wound down.
Real-Estate Retitling Checklist
Step-by-step instructions for transferring real-property deeds into your trust so the trust actually controls those assets.
Letter of Instruction
Non-binding personal note to your executor and family: where to find documents, account access, funeral wishes, and other practical guidance.
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Covers real estate, business, digital, and funeral wishes
Alaska has not adopted electronic will legislation. A traditional paper will with physical signatures is required.
Digital assets access
Alaska has adopted RUFADAA (2017). This is the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, which lets your executor, trustee, or agent access your email, social media, cryptocurrency wallets, cloud storage, and other digital accounts after death or incapacity.
To take advantage of RUFADAA, your will, trust, or power of attorney must explicitly grant authority to access digital assets. Without explicit authorization, service providers can deny access even to a court-appointed executor.
Remote online notarization (RON)
Alaska authorized RON in 2021.
Will
Not allowed
Trust
Allowed
POA
Allowed
Remote online witnessing (ROW)
Alaska does not allow remote online witnessing for estate planning documents. Witnesses must be physically present when you sign.
Will
Not allowed
Trust
Not allowed
POA
Not allowed
HC Directive
Not allowed
This information is general in nature and not legal advice. Laws change. Consult a licensed estate planning attorney in Alaska for guidance specific to your situation.