Alaska
Death Laws & End-of-Life Guide

At a Glance

Filing requirements and timeline in Alaska.

A death certificate for each death occurring in Alaska must be filed with the local registrar within three days after death and before final disposition of the body or its removal from the state. The funeral director or person acting as such is responsible for filing the death certificate and obtaining personal data from the next of kin and medical certification from the person responsible for that information. Medical certification must be completed and signed within 24 hours after death.

Who can order copies and where.

Certified copies of death certificates can be ordered by eligible individuals, including the spouse, parent, child, sibling, legal guardian, or authorized representative. Requests can be made in person, by mail, or by fax through the state's vital records office.

• -Alaska Health Analytics & Vital Records Section: P.O. Box 110675, Juneau, AK 99811-0675
• -Cost: $30 for the first certified copy, $25 for each additional copy.
• -Requests require a copy of a picture ID of the applicant.

Source: Alaska Dept. of Health, Vital Records Orders (services and fees) ↗

Who can order a death certificate in Alaska?

The spouse listed on the certificate, a parent listed on it, a child or a sibling, each with the certificate that proves the relationship if it was not recorded in Alaska; the Office of Public Advocacy with conservatorship or guardianship papers; and attorneys or government agencies with a letter saying whom they represent and why. Death records become public after 50 years. Certified copies come from Alaska's Health Analytics and Vital Records Section, Alaska Department of Health, with offices in Anchorage and Juneau, in person in Anchorage or Juneau, online through VitalChek, the only vendor the state works with, or by mail or fax with the application.

How do I get a death certificate in Alaska?

Order certified copies from Alaska's vital records office; this section's source link is the official process. The funeral home or cremation provider usually orders the first copies for you. Ask each bank, insurer, court, and agency whether it needs its own certified copy before you decide how many to order.

How much does a death certificate cost in Alaska?

$30 per certified copy in Alaska, as shown above. Additional-copy pricing varies; the official source linked in this section has the current fee schedule.

At a Glance

When probate is required in Alaska.

Probate is generally required if the deceased owned assets solely in their name without designated beneficiaries, or if the estate includes real property. Alaska also has a small estate affidavit that skips probate entirely (AS 13.16.680). To use it, the whole estate, less liens and encumbrances, has to consist only of registered vehicles worth $100,000 or less plus other personal property worth $50,000 or less, and 30 days have to have passed since the death. No real estate, or the affidavit doesn't work. Estates above those numbers, or with real estate in them, go through probate.

If you die without a will in Alaska.

If an Alaskan resident dies without a valid will, their assets are distributed according to the state's intestate succession laws. This means the property will go to the closest relatives based on a specific order.

• -If you have a spouse and descendants from you and that spouse, and your spouse has no other descendants: Your spouse inherits everything.
• -If you have a spouse and descendants from you and that spouse, and your spouse has other descendants from previous relationships: Your spouse inherits the first $150,000 of your intestate property, plus one-half of the balance; your descendants inherit everything else.
• -If you have a spouse and descendants who aren't the descendants of your surviving spouse: Your spouse inherits the first $100,000 of your intestate property, plus one-half of the balance; your descendants inherit everything else.
• -If you have a spouse and parents, but no descendants: Your spouse inherits the first $200,000 of the intestate estate, plus three-quarters of the balance; your parents inherit everything else.
• -If you have children but no spouse: Your children inherit everything.
• -If you have parents but no spouse or children: Your parents inherit everything.
• -If you have siblings but no children, spouse, or parents: Your siblings inherit everything.
• -If there are no surviving relatives, the estate will escheat to the state.

Avoiding probate in Alaska.

Several strategies can be used to avoid probate in Alaska, including establishing a living trust, holding property in joint ownership with rights of survivorship, naming payable-on-death (POD) beneficiaries for bank accounts, using transfer-on-death (TOD) registrations for securities, and recording a TOD deed for real estate, including a condominium or other common interest community unit. Since July 1, 2026, the owner of a vehicle or boat can also get a transfer on death title naming one or two beneficiaries (AS 13.33.401).

Handwritten wills.

Alaska accepts a handwritten will with no witnesses if the signature and the material portions (the parts that say who gets what and who's in charge) are in the person's own handwriting (Alaska Stat. § 13.12.502(b)). For land in another state, that state's law decides whether the will passes it (§ 13.06.068). A typed will needs two witnesses. A will valid where it was signed, or where the person lived when they signed it or died, is valid in Alaska too (§ 13.12.506).

Source: Alaska Stat. §§ 13.12.502 to 13.12.506 (Alaska Legislature) ↗

What is the small-estate limit in Alaska?

$50,000. Estates under that figure can use the simplified process or affidavit covered above instead of full probate.

Do I need a probate attorney in Alaska?

Not always. If the estate qualifies for the simplified process covered above, many people handle it without a lawyer. Hire one for full probate, a contested will, or property in more than one state. Before you hire anyone, know the fee structures: hourly, flat, and (in a few states) statutory percentages. Our probate attorney cost guide covers what each should run you.

Does Alaska allow transfer-on-death deeds?

Yes. Alaska authorizes the transfer on death deed under Alaska Stat. §§ 13.48.010-13.48.195 (Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act). Record it while you’re alive and the property passes to your named beneficiary at death, outside probate, revocable any time before then. Alaska adopted the uniform act in 2014, so a recorded TOD deed passes your home outside probate and stays revocable for life.

Source: Alaska Stat. §§ 13.48.010-13.48.195 (Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act) ↗

Time off work after a death in Alaska

Alaska doesn't require a private employer to give bereavement leave, paid or unpaid. Whatever you get is your employer's policy, and it can be changed or refused.

Who it covers. Nobody, for bereavement. The sick leave law covers nearly all Alaska employees but a death is not a permitted use.

How much. 0

Paid or unpaid. Not applicable. An employer can voluntarily allow accrued paid sick leave to be used after a death, but the law does not require it.

Since July 1, 2025 Alaska employees do accrue paid sick leave (1 hour per 30 worked; use capped at 40 hours a year at employers with fewer than 15 employees, 56 hours at 15 or more), but an employer can lawfully refuse to let it be used for a funeral.

Source: No bereavement statute. Alaska's new paid sick leave law (Ballot Measure 1 of 2024, effective July 1, 2025) does not include bereavement among its permitted uses. ↗

Can I leave money to care for my pet in Alaska?

Yes. Alaska enforces pet trusts under AS 13.12.907, so money you set aside for an animal is legally binding on whoever you put in charge of it. The trust ends when no animal it covers is still alive. Alaska puts no year limit on a pet trust; the 21 year cap in the first part of that same statute applies to a different kind of trust, one set up for a purpose with nobody named to receive anything. Whoever you name in the trust enforces it, and if you name nobody, any person can ask a court to appoint someone. A judge can cut the amount back only if it substantially exceeds what your animal needs, so a sensible cushion isn't at risk. Anything cut goes where your trust directs, then under your will's residuary clause, and otherwise to your heirs. Alaska tells courts to read your document as a real pet trust wherever they can, and to assume you meant a binding instruction rather than a wish, so plain wording works. Still name a caretaker and a backup yourself; the statute won't pick either one.

Source: AS 13.12.907 ↗

How to set one up, and what it costs →

Die without a will in Alaska and this law picks your heirs.

If you die intestate (without a valid will) in Alaska, Alaska Stat. §§ 13.12.101 to 13.12.114 decides who inherits everything a will would have covered. The shares depend on exactly who survives you: spouse, children, parents, siblings. What you told people you wanted doesn't matter. Only a signed will changes these defaults.

What your spouse gets.

What your spouse inherits depends on who else survives you. The four common family shapes:

• -Spouse only (no descendants or parents): entire estate
• -Spouse + parents (no descendants): first $200,000 plus 3/4 of the balance; parents take the rest
• -Spouse + joint descendants: entire estate, unless the spouse has children from someone else, then first $150,000 plus 1/2 of the balance
• -Spouse + blended family: first $100,000 plus 1/2 of the balance; the decedent's other descendants take the rest
• -Source: Alaska Stat. §§ 13.12.102, 13.12.103, 13.12.105

Children's shares.

The decedent's descendants take everything by representation: equal shares at the nearest generation with survivors, with a deceased child's share pooled and split among the next generation.

No spouse, no children: the line of succession.

After descendants come the parents, then descendants of the parents, then grandparents and their descendants in paternal and maternal halves; if no one qualifies, both personal and real property pass to the State of Alaska (AS 13.12.105).

At a Glance

What Alaska requires for advance directives.

In Alaska, an advance health care directive must be in writing, dated, and signed by the principal, and then either signed by two adult witnesses or notarized. Neither witness can be the person you name as your agent. At least one of the two witnesses must be someone who isn't related to you by blood, marriage, or adoption and who isn't entitled to any part of your estate when you die. (Alaska Stat. § 13.52.010)

Healthcare power of attorney in Alaska.

A Healthcare Power of Attorney (HCPOA) allows you to appoint an agent to make medical decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated. In Alaska, an HCPOA can be a standalone document or part of a broader advance directive. It requires either two qualified witnesses or notarization. The appointed agent can't serve as a witness.

POLST / MOLST forms in Alaska.

Alaska recognizes Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) forms. POLST is designed for individuals with advanced illness, serious life-limiting medical conditions, or advanced frailty. It's a medical order that records a patient's wishes regarding life-sustaining treatment and is intended to complement, not replace, an advance directive. POLST forms are typically completed by a healthcare professional and signed by both the patient (or their surrogate) and the physician.

Where do I get Alaska's advance directive form?

Start with Alaska Stat. § 13.52.010 (Health Care Decisions Act), linked as this section's source. Use the current form or sample that the official source provides or identifies. Form authority and execution requirements vary by state, so confirm the source before signing and get legal help if your situation or the instructions are unclear.

Does Alaska require a notary or witnesses for an advance directive?

Alaska accepts either 2 adult witnesses or a notary, as shown in the requirements above; you don't need both. Anyone 18 or older of sound mind can make one.

At a Glance

Cremation rules in Alaska.

In Alaska, a death certificate must be filed within three days after death and before cremation can occur. There's no statutory waiting period beyond the filing of the death certificate. A person can't authorize cremation for a decedent's remains if the decedent left written instructions prohibiting it. Cremated remains can generally be scattered as desired, subject to land ownership and specific policies.

Green burial and alternatives in Alaska.

Green burial, also known as natural burial, is legal in Alaska. State law doesn't require embalming or the use of caskets or vaults for burial. Burial on private property depends on your local authorities allowing it. Where it's allowed, the Department of Environmental Conservation says the burial should be at least 3.5 to 4 feet below the ground surface. Ask your borough or municipality first. Specific regulations for human composting or alkaline hydrolysis aren't detailed in current statutes.

• -Green burial is legal and supported, with no requirements for embalming or traditional caskets/vaults.
• -Burial on private property is allowed if local authorities permit it, at a depth of at least 3.5 to 4 feet.
• -No explicit mention of human composting or alkaline hydrolysis in available statutes.

Funeral home regulations in Alaska.

Funeral homes in Alaska must obtain an Alaska Business License and adhere to health and safety standards, including sanitation and body handling regulations. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Funeral Rule applies, requiring funeral providers to disclose prices and offer itemized lists of goods and services.

Who decides what happens to the body in Alaska

Alaska sets this order by statute. The first person on the list who is available and willing decides, and a funeral home takes its instructions from them.

1. designated agent named in a disposition document
2. personal representative serving or nominated in the will, acting under the decedent's written instructions in the will
3. spouse at the time of death
4. sole competent adult child, or a majority of competent adult children (fewer than half may act after reasonable notice with no known opposition from half or more)
5. surviving competent parents (one alone if the other is absent, as defined)
6. next degrees of kindred: the one person, the two if there are two, otherwise a majority (same fewer-than-majority carve-out)
7. public administrator, medical examiner, coroner, or other public official (indigent decedents or state/municipal responsibility)
8. any other person willing to assume legal and financial responsibility

Naming someone in advance. A "disposition document" under AS 13.75.010, using the statutory form set out in full at AS 13.75.030. It has to be signed and acknowledged before a notary public. It can be a separate document or sit inside another one, including a will or a prepaid funeral or burial contract, and it's revocable only by a later document meeting the same requirements. The agent's authority doesn't take effect until the agent signs the document accepting the appointment (AS 13.75.040). Alaska's is a dedicated instrument rather than the health care directive.

When the same tier disagrees. AS 13.75.110: anyone listed in AS 13.75.020 who's in a dispute about who has authority may bring an action in the superior court. A cemetery organization or funeral establishment isn't liable for refusing to accept, inter, or otherwise dispose of the remains until it gets a court order or other suitable confirmation that the dispute is resolved.

Alaska runs a 48-hour clock: under AS 13.75.050, if you don't exercise your authority within 48 hours of learning of the death or of the death itself, whichever is earlier, the right passes to the next person on the list. A person charged with a felonious killing connected to the death loses the right if the funeral director or cemetery knows about the charge (AS 13.75.060), cremation can't be authorized against a disposition document that says no (AS 13.75.070), and whoever takes control is personally liable for reasonable costs the estate can't cover. The chapter doesn't apply to members of the organized militia, the armed forces, or the Coast Guard (AS 13.75.120).

Source: Alaska Stat. § 13.75.020 (Persons authorized to control disposition), Disposition of Human Remains Act, AS 13.75.010–.195 ↗

If you can't afford the funeral in Alaska

Three separate pots of money, on three different agencies' websites, collected nowhere. A family that qualifies for all three usually claims none of them.

1. When nobody can pay. General Relief Assistance (GRA) burial assistance. Statewide, run by the state, not by boroughs. Alaska Department of Health, Division of Public Assistance. Virtual Contact Center 800-478-7778, doh.dpa.info@alaska.gov.

What it pays. Up to $1,250 paid to each funeral home per person for basic funeral and burial services, at the rates in that funeral home's own price list (7 AAC 47.130; DPA General Relief Manual 240-3B). On top of that $1,250, GRA also pays the cheapest cemetery plot reasonably available locally, cremation if next of kin asks for it including the urn and the container, the reasonable cost of opening and closing the grave, and a 10 percent processing charge on what the funeral home pays a cemetery or a transporter. Long-term storage during a court-ordered burial runs $15 a day and has to be pre-authorized.

What disqualifies you. The household can't have more than $500 in resources, and net monthly income has to be under $300 for one person, $400 for two, $500 for three, plus $100 for each additional person. The person has to have been an Alaska resident and a U.S. citizen or legal alien. For a burial claim, DPA counts the income and resources of the person who died plus the relatives who lived with them at the time of death. GRA is a last resort, so tribal or BIA burial assistance and VA death benefits have to be pursued first. Social Security's $255 lump sum death payment is disregarded when DPA decides eligibility. Donations and contributions are subtracted from the award, and if anyone pays for a more expensive funeral than GRA allows, eligibility ends. DPA will contact legally responsible relatives who didn't live with the person, but the manual says assistance can't be delayed or denied if those relatives can't be found, refuse, or say they can't pay.

The official page ↗

2. If the death was caused by a crime. Not published. The Violent Crimes Compensation Board doesn't publish a funeral or burial cap. Its limitations page says every eligible expense draws from one overall award cap of $40,000 and that "Allowable limits will vary depending on service provided and the provider license." The board lists these funeral and burial items as eligible: casket or urn or similar vessel, funeral services, burial vault, cremation costs, grave marker, flowers, transportation of the body, memorial meal, and burial clothing, plus Alaska Native or other culturally relevant practices depending on the request.

Alaska crime victim compensation ↗

3. Money the person was already owed. Search Alaska's unclaimed property before you borrow anything. Searching and claiming are free.

Alaska unclaimed property ↗

Alaska is one of the states that actually runs this itself. You don't chase a borough. You apply to the Division of Public Assistance for General Relief Assistance burial help, using the GRA Burial Application (form GEN-60). Do it before the funeral home does anything expensive, because the money is paid to the funeral home and several items have to be approved in advance. What GRA pays: up to $1,250 to each funeral home for basic services, billed at that home's own published prices. Basic services means preparation and embalming, a cloth-covered casket with at least four handles and a padded lined interior, one chapel service at the funeral home, use of a hearse, and the facilities and equipment for burial or cremation if you ask for cremation. A casket rental for a viewing before cremation counts too. Separately from the $1,250, GRA pays the cheapest cemetery plot reasonably available where the person is being buried, the cremation itself including the urn and the container, the reasonable cost of opening and closing the grave, and a 10 percent processing charge on money the funeral home pays out to a cemetery or a transporter. A hermetic sealer, an oversize casket, clothing, and long storage have to be approved by DPA before the service happens or they won't be paid. Who qualifies: the household can't have more than $500 in resources, and net monthly income has to be under $300 for one person, $400 for two, $500 for three, and $100 more for each person after that. For a burial claim, DPA looks at the income and resources of the person who died plus the relatives who were living with them when they died. The person had to be an Alaska resident and a U.S. citizen or legal alien. Two things to know before you accept help from anyone. Donations and contributions get subtracted from the GRA award. And if someone pays for a more expensive funeral than GRA covers, a donated $3,000 casket is the example in the state's own manual, eligibility for burial assistance ends completely. So call DPA first. GRA is the payer of last resort, so DPA will send you to check tribal or Bureau of Indian Affairs burial assistance and VA death benefits first. Social Security's $255 lump sum death payment doesn't count against you. DPA will also try to contact legally responsible relatives under AS 47.25.230, including ones who didn't live with the person. That contact can't hold up your application. The manual says burial assistance can't be delayed or denied if a responsible relative can't be found, refuses, or says they can't pay. Start with the Virtual Contact Center at 800-478-7778 or doh.dpa.info@alaska.gov, and tell the funeral home DPA needs form GEN-61 from them for pre-authorization. If the death was a violent crime, apply to the Violent Crimes Compensation Board at 907-465-3040 or 800-764-3040. The board covers funeral and burial, and its list includes the casket or urn, funeral services, a burial vault, cremation, a grave marker, flowers, transporting the body, a memorial meal, and burial clothing, plus Alaska Native or other culturally relevant practices. It doesn't publish a funeral cap. Everything you claim comes out of one $40,000 cap per victim. File within two years of the crime, and if you're past that, explain why and file anyway. Ask the board about an expedited request; paying for funeral arrangements is one of the categories it will move fast on. Then check unclaimedproperty.alaska.gov for money already owed to the person. The Department of Revenue Treasury Division holds it, searching and claiming are free, and there's no deadline.

At a Glance

Alaska doesn't have a state estate tax.

Alaska is one of many states that doesn't levy a state estate tax. Therefore, when passing assets on, you won't owe Alaska estate taxes. Residents are, however, still subject to federal estate tax laws if their estate exceeds the federal exemption limit.

Alaska doesn't have an inheritance tax.

Alaska doesn't impose an inheritance tax. This means that beneficiaries receiving assets from an estate in Alaska won't pay a state-level inheritance tax on those assets.

Federal estate tax.

The federal estate tax applies to estates over $15 million per person (2026), $30 million for married couples. This is separate from any state estate or inheritance tax. The Working Families Tax Cuts Bill (Public Law 119-21, 2025) made the higher exemption permanent, so the drop to roughly $7 million once scheduled under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act never took effect.

Does Alaska have an estate tax?

No. Alaska has no state estate tax. Only the federal estate tax applies, and only to estates over $15 million per person (2026), $30 million for a married couple.

Does Alaska have an inheritance tax?

No. Alaska doesn’t tax inheritances. Heirs owe no state tax on what they receive.

What is the federal estate tax exemption for 2026?

$15 million per person, $30 million for a married couple, indexed for inflation. The Working Families Tax Cuts Bill (Public Law 119-21, 2025) made the higher exemption permanent. Estates below the threshold owe no federal estate tax.

At a Glance

Registering as a donor in Alaska.

In Alaska, you can register to be an organ, eye, and tissue donor through the Department of Administration, Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) when applying for or renewing your driver's license or state ID. You can also register online through the state's donor registry.

• -Alaska Organ, Eye & Tissue Donor Registry: https://dmv.alaska.gov/credential-services/organ-donor/
• -Register at the DMV when obtaining or renewing your driver's license or state ID.
• -Indicate your wishes on your advance directive.

Your family can't override an adult donor's decision.

In Alaska, a registered organ donor decision is legally binding. Nobody else can make, amend, or revoke your gift after your death (AS 13.52.193(a)). One exception: if the donor is an unemancipated minor, a parent who is reasonably available can revoke or amend the gift (AS 13.52.193(g)). Organ procurement organizations still consult families in practice, so tell yours what you decided.

Source: Alaska Statutes AS 13.52.170 to 13.52.260 (anatomical gifts), akleg.gov ↗