Alaska Intestate Succession: Who Inherits Without a Will

When an Alaskan dies without a will, AS 13.12.102 and AS 13.12.103 decide who inherits. A surviving spouse takes everything if the couple’s children are all shared and the spouse has no other children, or if no children or parents survive; otherwise the spouse takes the first $100,000, $150,000 or $200,000 plus one-half or three-fourths of the rest, and the remainder goes to the children, or to the parents if there are no children. With no spouse, the estate passes to children, then parents, then siblings, then grandparents’ families, and finally to the State of Alaska.

Those rules reach only property that passes through the estate, meaning property with no surviving joint owner and no named beneficiary. Before anything is divided, the spouse and children take statutory allowances off the top, starting with a $27,000 homestead allowance.

This article is general information, not legal advice, and creates no attorney-client relationship. For the step-by-step administration of an estate, see our Alaska probate guide; for planning so these default rules never apply, see our Anchorage will and estate planning guide and our probate practice page.

Table of Contents

• ➤ The Surviving Spouse’s Share (AS 13.12.102)
• ➤ Four Examples With Real Numbers
• ➤ Who Inherits If There Is No Spouse (AS 13.12.103)
• ➤ The 120-Hour Survival Rule
• ➤ Stepchildren, Adoption, Half-Blood and Other Family Questions
• ➤ Alaska Native Corporation Stock
• ➤ When No Relative Survives
• ➤ Allowances Paid Before Heirs Take
• ➤ The Elective Share, Briefly
• ➤ Property That Never Reaches Intestacy
• ➤ Small Estates: The $50,000 Affidavit and Summary Procedure
• ➤ When You Need Informal Probate
• ➤ Frequently Asked Questions
• ➤ Talk to a BFQ Law Alaska Attorney

The Surviving Spouse’s Share (AS 13.12.102)

The spouse’s share depends on which relatives survived and whether either spouse has children from another relationship.

Who else survives	Spouse receives	The rest goes to
No descendants and no parent of the decedent	The entire intestate estate	Nobody else
Descendants, all of whom are also the spouse’s, and the spouse has no other descendants	The entire intestate estate	Nobody else
No descendants, but one or both parents	First $200,000 plus three-fourths of the balance	The parents equally, or the surviving parent (one-fourth of the balance)
Descendants, all of whom are also the spouse’s, but the spouse has a descendant from another relationship	First $150,000 plus one-half of the balance	The decedent’s descendants, by representation
One or more of the decedent’s descendants is not the spouse’s	First $100,000 plus one-half of the balance	The decedent’s descendants, by representation

Once a stepchild is in the picture on either side, the statute reserves part of the estate for the decedent’s own descendants. The dollar amounts apply to the net estate: under AS 13.16.005, heirs take subject to the allowances, creditors’ claims, the elective share and administration costs.

Four Examples With Real Numbers

Assume a married Anchorage resident dies without a will, leaving a net intestate estate of $400,000.

Family situation	Spouse	Others
Two children, both with the spouse; spouse has no other children	$400,000	$0
One child from an earlier marriage	$100,000 + $150,000 = $250,000	Child: $150,000
Two children with the spouse; spouse also has a child from an earlier relationship	$150,000 + $125,000 = $275,000	Each of the two children: $62,500
No children; both parents living	$200,000 + $150,000 = $350,000	Each parent: $25,000

Who Inherits If There Is No Spouse (AS 13.12.103)

Whatever does not go to a spouse passes down this list. Each step applies only if no one in the step above survives:

Order	Who takes	How it is divided
1	The decedent’s descendants (children, grandchildren and so on)	By representation
2	Parents	Equally if both survive; all to one surviving parent
3	Descendants of the parents (brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews)	By representation
4	Grandparents or their descendants (aunts, uncles, cousins)	Half to the paternal side and half to the maternal side; if one side has no one, all to the other side
5	No one in the categories above	The State of Alaska (AS 13.12.105)

Representation is defined in AS 13.12.106: equal shares at the nearest generation with a living member, one for each living person and one for each deceased person who left descendants. A widow leaves $300,000 and three children, one of whom died earlier leaving two children. Each surviving child takes $100,000 and the two grandchildren split $100,000.

The 120-Hour Survival Rule

Under AS 13.12.104, an heir who is not shown by clear and convincing evidence to have survived the decedent by 120 hours (five days) is treated as having died first for purposes of intestate succession, the homestead allowance and exempt property.

It matters most after a crash that kills two family members days apart. It does not apply if it would send the estate to the State.

Stepchildren, Adoption, Half-Blood and Other Family Questions

• Stepchildren do not inherit from a stepparent who dies without a will. AS 13.12.103 does not include step-relatives, and the Alaska Court System’s intestacy self-help page confirms that stepparents, stepchildren, stepsiblings and foster children are not heirs, however long the family lived together.
• Adopted children inherit from their adoptive parents, not their birth parents, under AS 13.12.114(b). After a stepparent adoption, the child can still inherit from or through both birth parents.
• Children born outside marriage inherit from their natural parents regardless of the parents’ marital status, as long as parentage can be established, for example by acknowledgment or a paternity order (AS 13.12.114(a); AS 25.20.050). A birth parent can inherit from a child only if the parent openly treated the child as their own and did not refuse to support the child.
• Half-blood relatives inherit the same share as whole-blood relatives (AS 13.12.107).
• A child conceived before death but born afterward counts as living at the death if the child lives at least 120 hours after birth (AS 13.12.108).
• A former spouse is not a spouse. Under AS 13.12.802, a person divorced from the decedent, or whose marriage was annulled, is not a surviving spouse unless the two later remarried. A legal separation that does not end the marriage is not a divorce, so a legally separated spouse still inherits, unless they were a party to a court order ending all marital property rights.
• Unmarried partners have no intestate share: the statute provides for a “surviving spouse.” See our guide to unmarried couples’ rights in Alaska.
• A person who feloniously kills the decedent forfeits any intestate share, elective share and allowances (AS 13.12.803).
• Lifetime gifts reduce an heir’s share only if the decedent said so in a contemporaneous writing or the heir acknowledged it in writing (AS 13.12.109).

Alaska Native Corporation Stock

AS 13.12.102(b) has a separate rule for settlement common stock and other inalienable stock in a corporation organized under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. The surviving spouse takes all of it if there is no surviving issue, and one-half if the decedent is survived by issue, with the other half going to the descendants. With no spouse, the stock passes to the decedent’s heirs in the ordinary order, but if there are no heirs at all it goes back to the issuing Regional Corporation and is canceled, not to the State (43 U.S.C. 1606(h)(2)). A stock will made under ANCSA overrides these rules, and the Native corporation has to process any transfer.

When No Relative Survives

If there is no taker at all, AS 13.12.105 sends the estate to the State.

Allowances Paid Before Heirs Take

Before the intestate shares are calculated, Alaska protects the immediate family with three allowances under AS 13.12.402 to 13.12.404. Each is in addition to whatever the spouse or children inherit.

Allowance	Amount	Who receives it	Priority
Homestead allowance (AS 13.12.402)	$27,000	Surviving spouse; if none, divided among minor and dependent children	Ahead of all claims against the estate
Exempt property (AS 13.12.403)	Up to $10,000, net of security interests, in furniture, automobiles, appliances and personal effects	Surviving spouse; if none, the children jointly	Ahead of all claims
Family allowance (AS 13.12.404)	A reasonable amount for support during administration	Spouse and minor or dependent children	Ahead of all claims except the homestead allowance

Under AS 13.12.405, the personal representative may set the family allowance at up to $18,000 as a lump sum or $1,500 a month for one year; anyone aggrieved may ask the court for a different amount.

The Elective Share, Briefly

The elective share mainly protects a spouse left out of a will. Under AS 13.12.202, the spouse of a decedent domiciled in Alaska may elect to take one-third of the augmented estate, with a $50,000 minimum. Under AS 13.12.211, the petition is due within nine months after death or six months after the will is probated, whichever is later.

Property That Never Reaches Intestacy

Under AS 13.33.101, payable-on-death provisions in insurance policies, pension and retirement plans, account agreements, trusts and similar instruments are nontestamentary: the named person generally takes outside probate, subject to exceptions such as divorce, which generally revokes a former spouse’s designation (AS 13.12.804) but not in most employer-sponsored retirement and life insurance plans governed by federal ERISA law, which pay whoever the plan’s form names, and some creditor claims. Common examples:

• Joint bank accounts. Under AS 13.33.212, on a party’s death the money in a multiple-party account belongs to the surviving party, unless the account was set up without right of survivorship.
• Life insurance and retirement accounts pass to the named beneficiary.
• Real estate with a transfer-on-death deed. AS 13.48.010 allows a TOD deed, which under AS 13.48.050 must be recorded before death in the recording district where the property is located.
• Vehicles and boats with a TOD title. Since July 1, 2026, under new AS 13.33.401 enacted by SB 104 (chapter 12, SLA 2026), an owner can apply for a transfer-on-death title naming up to two beneficiaries, who take subject to liens and creditor claims.
• Community property. Alaska is an opt-in state. Under AS 34.77.030, spouses’ property is community property only to the extent a written community property agreement or community property trust says so, and each spouse then has a present undivided one-half interest. Under AS 34.77.090, the agreement may provide that property passes at death to a designated person without probate. See our Alaska community property guide.

Small Estates: The $50,000 Affidavit and Summary Procedure

The first shortcut needs no court case. Under AS 13.16.680, a successor (an heir, if there is no will) can collect property by presenting an affidavit stating that:

• at least 30 days have passed since the death;
• the entire estate, less liens and encumbrances, consists only of vehicles subject to registration totaling no more than $100,000 and other personal property totaling no more than $50,000;
• no application or petition to appoint a personal representative is pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction; and
• the person claiming the property is entitled to it.

The court system’s form is the Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of Decedent (P-110), signed under oath before a notary or court clerk. According to the court’s self-help page, the affidavit cannot be used if the decedent owned any real property, however small, unless it passed automatically, such as by tenancy by the entirety or a TOD deed. The vehicle category means vehicles that must be registered in Alaska; snowmachines, ATVs and boats count toward the $50,000 limit instead.

A holder that pays on the affidavit is discharged, and one that refuses can be compelled in court; the person who collects is accountable to the rightful heirs (AS 13.16.685).

The second shortcut, the summary procedure under AS 13.16.690, does require a personal representative, usually appointed through informal probate. If the inventory shows that the estate, less liens, does not exceed the homestead allowance, exempt property, family allowance, administration costs, reasonable funeral expenses and the last illness’s medical and hospital bills, the personal representative may distribute it without notice to creditors and close the case with a sworn statement under AS 13.16.695 (court form P-350).

When You Need Informal Probate

If the decedent owned real estate alone without a TOD deed, or property exceeds the affidavit limits, a personal representative is usually needed.

With no will and no dispute, this is normally done through informal probate. The court’s informal probate page lists the Request to Start Informal Probate and Appoint a Personal Representative When There Is No Will (P-325), the court’s statement (P-326), and the acceptance of duties and letters of administration (P-336), with a $250 filing fee. Under AS 13.16.065, a surviving spouse who is an heir has priority over other heirs, and a creditor may seek appointment 45 days after death. If anyone has equal or higher priority, such as a surviving spouse when an adult child applies, or the decedent’s other children, each of them must sign a nomination (P-306) for the case to proceed informally.

Two deadlines matter. Under AS 13.16.040, informal probate and appointment proceedings generally may not be started more than three years after death, with limited exceptions (see the FAQ below). And under AS 13.16.450, a personal representative publishes notice once a week for three successive weeks, and creditors who do not present claims within four months of the first publication are barred.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the surviving spouse automatically get the house? Not automatically. A house the couple held as tenants by the entirety, the default when spouses take title together under AS 34.15.110(b), passes to the spouse outside probate, and one covered by a recorded TOD deed goes to the named beneficiary. Otherwise it is part of the intestate estate, and a personal representative is needed to transfer it. The spouse inherits it outright when taking the entire estate under AS 13.12.102. When children from another relationship or the decedent’s parents share the estate, the house is one asset in the shared pot: under AS 13.16.560 the personal representative divides the estate in any equitable manner, which can mean giving the house to the spouse as part of the spouse’s share, giving the heirs shares in it, or selling it. The $27,000 homestead allowance is a dollar amount, not a right to the house itself.

Do stepchildren inherit in Alaska if there is no will? Not as stepchildren. A stepchild can receive property only if the stepparent adopted them, named them in a will or trust, made them a joint owner with survivorship, or named them as a beneficiary on an account, policy, TOD deed or TOD title.

Can I use the small estate affidavit if Mom owned a cabin? Not if the cabin was in her name alone with no TOD deed.

How long do we have to open probate? As a rule, informal probate and appointment proceedings must start within three years of the death (AS 13.16.040). After that, a personal representative can still be appointed, but only to confirm title in the heirs, and no claims other than administration expenses may be presented. A proceeding to determine heirs has no three-year limit. The affidavit has no deadline: it can be used any time after 30 days if the estate fits its limits and no one has applied to appoint a personal representative.

Talk to a BFQ Law Alaska Attorney

Most intestate estates turn on which assets passed outside probate and whether anyone has a child from another relationship.

Read about our probate practice and estate planning services, and see our attorneys and legal team. Reach us through our contact page. Nothing here promises an outcome, and every estate depends on its own facts.