reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 4. Formal Testacy and Appointment Proceedings. › Sec. 13.16.165. Formal testacy proceedings; contested cases; testimony of attesting witnesses.

(a) If evidence concerning execution of an attested will that is not self-proved is necessary in contested cases, the testimony of at least one of the attesting witnesses, if within the state, competent, and able to testify, is required. Due execution of an attested or unattested will may be proved by other evidence.
(b) If the will is self-proved, compliance with signature requirements for execution is conclusively presumed and other requirements of execution are presumed subject to rebuttal without the testimony of any witness upon filing the will and the acknowledgment and affidavits annexed or attached to it, unless there is proof of fraud or forgery affecting the acknowledgment or affidavit.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 4. Formal Testacy and Appointment Proceedings. › Sec. 13.16.170. Formal testacy proceedings; burdens in contested cases.

In contested cases, petitioners who seek to establish intestacy have the burden of establishing prima facie proof of death, venue, and heirship. Proponents of a will have the burden of establishing prima facie proof of due execution in all cases, and if they are also petitioners, prima facie proof of death and venue. Contestants of a will have the burden of establishing lack of testamentary intent or capacity, undue influence, fraud, duress, mistake, or revocation. Parties have the ultimate burden of persuasion as to matters with respect to which they have the initial burden of proof. If a will is opposed by the petition for probate of a later will revoking the former, it shall be determined first whether the later will is entitled to probate, and if a will is opposed by a petition for a declaration of intestacy, it shall be determined first whether the will is entitled to probate.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 4. Formal Testacy and Appointment Proceedings. › Sec. 13.16.175. Formal testacy proceedings; will construction; effect of final order in another jurisdiction.

Subject to AS 13.06.068, a final order of a court of another state determining testacy, the validity, or construction of a will made in a proceeding involving notice to and an opportunity for contest by all interested persons must be accepted as determinative by the courts of this state if it includes, or is based upon, a finding that the decedent was domiciled at death in the state where the order was made.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 4. Formal Testacy and Appointment Proceedings. › Sec. 13.16.180. Formal testacy proceedings; order; foreign will.

After the time required for any notice has expired, upon proof of notice, and after any hearing that may be necessary, if the court finds that the testator is dead, that venue is proper, and that the proceeding was commenced within the limitation prescribed by AS 13.16.040, it shall determine the decedent's domicile at death, any heirs, and the state of testacy of the decedent. Any will found to be valid and unrevoked shall be formally probated. Termination of any previous informal appointment of a personal representative that may be appropriate in view of the relief requested and findings is governed by AS 13.16.300. The petition shall be dismissed or appropriate amendment allowed if the court is not satisfied that the alleged decedent is dead. A will from a place that does not provide for probate of a will after death, may be proved for probate in this state by a duly authenticated certificate of its legal custodian that the copy introduced is a true copy and that the will has become effective under the law of the other place.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 4. Formal Testacy and Appointment Proceedings. › Sec. 13.16.185. Formal testacy proceedings; probate of more than one instrument.

If two or more instruments are offered for probate before a final order is entered in a formal testacy proceeding, more than one instrument may be probated if neither expressly revokes the other or contains provisions that work a total revocation by implication. If more than one instrument is probated, the order shall indicate what provisions control in respect to the nomination of an executor, if any. The order may, but need not, indicate how any provisions of a particular instrument are affected by the other instrument. After a final order in a testacy proceeding has been entered, no petition for probate of any other instrument of the decedent may be entertained, except incident to a petition to vacate or modify a previous probate order and subject to the time limits of AS 13.16.195.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 4. Formal Testacy and Appointment Proceedings. › Sec. 13.16.190. Formal testacy proceedings; partial intestacy.

If it becomes evident in the course of a formal testacy proceeding that, though one or more instruments are entitled to be probated, the decedent's estate is or may be partially intestate, the court shall enter an order to that effect.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 4. Formal Testacy and Appointment Proceedings. › Sec. 13.16.200. Formal testacy proceedings; vacation of order for other cause.

For good cause shown, an order in a formal testacy proceeding may be modified or vacated within the time allowed for appeal.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 4. Formal Testacy and Appointment Proceedings. › Sec. 13.16.205. Formal proceedings concerning appointment of personal representative.

(a) A formal proceeding for adjudication regarding the priority or qualification of one who is an applicant for appointment as personal representative, or of one who previously has been appointed personal representative in informal proceedings, if an issue concerning the testacy of the decedent is or may be involved, is governed by AS 13.16.145, as well as by this section. In other cases, the petition must contain or adopt the statements required by AS 13.16.080(a)(1) and describe the question relating to priority or qualification of the personal representative that is to be resolved. If the proceeding precedes any appointment of a personal representative, it shall stay any pending informal appointment proceedings as well as any commenced thereafter. If the proceeding is commenced after appointment, the previously appointed personal representative, after receipt of notice thereof, shall refrain from exercising any power of administration except as necessary to preserve the estate or unless the court orders otherwise.
(b) After notice to interested persons, including all persons interested in the administration of the estate as successors under the applicable assumption concerning testacy, any previously appointed personal representative and any person having or claiming priority for appointment as personal representative, the court shall determine who is entitled to appointment under AS 13.16.065, make a proper appointment and, if appropriate, terminate any prior appointment found to have been improper as provided in cases of removal under AS 13.16.295.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 5. Supervised Administration. › Sec. 13.16.215. Supervised administration; nature of proceeding.

Supervised administration is a single in rem proceeding to secure complete administration and settlement of a decedent's estate under the continuing authority of the court which extends until entry of an order approving distribution of the estate and discharging the personal representative or other order terminating the proceeding. A supervised personal representative is responsible to the court, as well as to the interested parties, and is subject to directions concerning the estate made by the court on its own motion or on the motion of any interested party. Except as otherwise provided in AS 13.16.215 - 13.16.235, or as otherwise ordered by the court, a supervised personal representative has the same duties and powers as a personal representative who is not supervised.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 5. Supervised Administration. › Sec. 13.16.220. Supervised administration; petition; order.

A petition for supervised administration may be filed by any interested person or by a personal representative at any time or the prayer for supervised administration may be joined with a petition in a testacy or appointment proceeding. If the testacy of the decedent and the priority and qualification of any personal representative have not been adjudicated previously, the petition for supervised administration must include the matters required of a petition in a formal testacy proceeding and the notice requirements and procedures applicable to a formal testacy proceeding apply. If not previously adjudicated, the court shall adjudicate the testacy of the decedent and questions relating to the priority and qualifications of the personal representative in any case involving a request for supervised administration, even though the request for supervised administration may be denied. After notice to interested persons, the court shall order supervised administration of a decedent's estate as follows:
(1) if the decedent's will directs supervised administration, it shall be ordered unless the court finds that circumstances bearing on the need for supervised administration have changed since the execution of the will and that there is no necessity for supervised administration;
(2) if the decedent's will directs unsupervised administration, supervised administration shall be ordered only upon a finding that it is necessary for protection of persons interested in the estate; or
(3) in other cases if the court finds that supervised administration is necessary under the circumstances.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 5. Supervised Administration. › Sec. 13.16.225. Supervised administration; effect on other proceedings.

(a) The pendency of a proceeding for supervised administration of a decedent's estate stays action on any informal application then pending or thereafter filed.
(b) If a will has been previously probated in informal proceedings, the effect of the filing of a petition for supervised administration is as provided for formal testacy proceedings by AS 13.16.140.
(c) After receiving notice of the filing of a petition for supervised administration, a personal representative who has been appointed previously may not exercise the power to distribute any estate. The filing of the petition does not affect other powers and duties unless the court restricts the exercise of any of them pending full hearing on the petition.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 5. Supervised Administration. › Sec. 13.16.230. Supervised administration; powers of personal representative.

Unless restricted by the court, a supervised personal representative has, without interim orders approving exercise of a power, all powers of personal representatives under AS 13.06 - AS 13.36, but a supervised personal representative may not exercise the power to make any distribution of the estate without prior order of the court. Any other restriction on the power of a personal representative that may be ordered by the court must be endorsed on the letters of appointment and, unless so endorsed, is ineffective as to persons dealing in good faith with the personal representative.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 5. Supervised Administration. › Sec. 13.16.235. Supervised administration; interim orders; distribution and closing orders.

Unless otherwise ordered by the court, supervised administration is terminated by order in accordance with time restrictions, notices, and contents of orders prescribed for proceedings under AS 13.16.620. Interim orders approving or directing partial distributions or granting other relief may be issued by the court at any time during the pendency of a supervised administration on the application of the personal representative or any interested person.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 6. Personal Representative; Appointment, Control and Termination of Authority. › Sec. 13.16.245. Qualification.

Before receiving letters, a personal representative shall qualify by filing with the appointing court any required bond and a statement of acceptance of the duties of the office.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 6. Personal Representative; Appointment, Control and Termination of Authority. › Sec. 13.16.250. Acceptance of appointment; consent to jurisdiction.

By accepting appointment, a personal representative submits personally to the jurisdiction of the court in any proceeding relating to the estate that may be instituted by any interested person. Notice of any proceeding shall be delivered to the personal representative, or mailed by ordinary first-class mail to the personal representative at the address as listed in the application or petition for appointment or as thereafter reported to the court and to the personal representative's address as then known to the petitioner.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 6. Personal Representative; Appointment, Control and Termination of Authority. › Sec. 13.16.255. Bond required; exceptions.

A personal representative shall execute and file a bond with the registrar unless
(1) the estate is testate and the will expressly waives surety bond as to the person qualifying as personal representative;
(2) the devisees or the heirs file written waiver of surety bond;
(3) the personal representative is a qualified corporate fiduciary; or
(4) the personal representative, pursuant to statute, has deposited cash or collateral with an agency of the state to secure performance of the personal representative's duties.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 6. Personal Representative; Appointment, Control and Termination of Authority. › Sec. 13.16.260. Bond amount; security; procedure; reduction.

If bond is required and the provisions of the will or order do not specify the amount, unless stated in the application or petition, the person qualifying shall file a statement under oath with the registrar indicating the person's best estimate of the value of the personal estate of the decedent and of the income expected from the personal and real estate during the next year. The person qualifying shall execute and file a bond with the registrar, or give other suitable security, in an amount not less than the estimate. The registrar shall determine that the bond is duly executed by a corporate surety, or one or more individual sureties whose performance is secured by pledge of personal property, mortgage on real property, or other adequate security. The registrar may permit the amount of the bond to be reduced by the value of assets of the estate deposited with a domestic financial institution, as defined in AS 13.33.201, in a manner that prevents their unauthorized disposition. On petition of the personal representative or another interested person the court may excuse a requirement of bond, increase or reduce the amount of the bond, release sureties, or permit the substitution of another bond with the same or different sureties.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 6. Personal Representative; Appointment, Control and Termination of Authority. › Sec. 13.16.265. Demand for bond by interested person.

Any person apparently having an interest in the estate worth in excess of $1,000, or any creditor having a claim in excess of $1,000, may make a written demand that a personal representative give bond. The demand must be filed with the registrar and a copy mailed to the personal representative, if appointment and qualification have occurred. Thereupon, bond is required, but the requirement ceases if the person demanding bond ceases to be interested in the estate, or if bond is excused as provided in AS 13.16.255 or 13.16.260. After receiving notice and until the filing of the bond or cessation of the requirement of bond, the personal representative shall refrain from exercising any powers of the personal representative's office except as necessary to preserve the estate. Failure of the personal representative to meet a requirement of bond by giving suitable bond within 30 days after receipt of notice is cause for removal and appointment of a successor personal representative.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 6. Personal Representative; Appointment, Control and Termination of Authority. › Sec. 13.16.270. Terms and conditions of bonds.

(a) The following requirements and provisions apply to any bond required by AS 13.16.245 - 13.16.330:
(1) bonds shall name the state as obligee for the benefit of persons interested in the estate and shall be conditioned upon the faithful discharge by the fiduciary of all duties according to law;
(2) unless otherwise provided by the terms of the approved bond, sureties are jointly and severally liable with the personal representative and with each other; the address of each surety shall be stated in the bond;
(3) by executing an approved bond of a personal representative, the surety consents to the jurisdiction of the probate court that issued letters to the primary obligor in any proceedings pertaining to the fiduciary duties of the personal representative and naming the surety as a party; notice of any proceeding shall be delivered to the surety or mailed by registered or certified mail to the surety at the address as listed with the court where the bond is filed and to the surety's address as then known to the petitioner;
(4) on petition of a successor personal representative, any other personal representative of the same decedent, or any interested person, a proceeding in the court may be initiated against a surety for breach of the obligation of the bond of the personal representative;
(5) the bond of the personal representative is not void after the first recovery but may be proceeded against from time to time until the whole penalty is exhausted.
(b) No action or proceeding may be commenced against the surety on any matter as to which an action or proceeding against the primary obligor is barred by adjudication or limitation.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 6. Personal Representative; Appointment, Control and Termination of Authority. › Sec. 13.16.275. Order restraining personal representative.

(a) On petition of any person who appears to have an interest in the estate, the court by temporary order may restrain a personal representative from performing specified acts of administration, disbursement, or distribution, or exercise of any powers or discharge of any duties of the personal representative's office, or make any other order to secure proper performance of the personal representative's duty, if it appears to the court that the personal representative otherwise may take some action that would jeopardize unreasonably the interest of the applicant or of some other interested person. Persons with whom the personal representative may transact business may be made parties.
(b) The matter shall be set for hearing within 10 days unless the parties otherwise agree. Notice as the court directs shall be given to the personal representative and the personal representative's attorney of record, if any, and to any other parties named defendant in the petition.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 6. Personal Representative; Appointment, Control and Termination of Authority. › Sec. 13.16.280. Termination of appointment; general.

Termination of appointment of a personal representative occurs as indicated in AS 13.16.285 - 13.16.300. Termination ends the right and power pertaining to the office of personal representative as conferred by AS 13.06 - AS 13.36 or any will, except that a personal representative, at any time before distribution or until restrained or enjoined by court order, may perform acts necessary to protect the estate and may deliver the assets to a successor representative. Termination does not discharge a personal representative from liability for transactions or omissions occurring before termination, or relieve the personal representative of the duty to preserve assets subject to the personal representative's control, to account therefor, and to deliver the assets. Termination does not affect the jurisdiction of the court over the personal representative, but terminates the personal representative's authority to represent the estate in any pending or future proceeding.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 6. Personal Representative; Appointment, Control and Termination of Authority. › Sec. 13.16.285. Termination of appointment; death or disability.

The death of a personal representative or the appointment of a conservator for the estate of a personal representative, terminates the personal representative's appointment. Until appointment and qualification of a successor or special representative to replace the deceased or protected representative, the representative of the estate of the deceased or protected personal representative, if any, has the duty to protect the estate possessed and being administered by the decedent or ward at the time the appointment terminates, has the power to perform acts necessary for protection, and shall account for and deliver the estate assets to a successor or special personal representative upon appointment and qualification.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 6. Personal Representative; Appointment, Control and Termination of Authority. › Sec. 13.16.290. Termination of appointment; voluntary.

(a) An appointment of a personal representative terminates as provided in AS 13.16.630, one year after the filing of a closing statement.
(b) An order closing an estate as provided in AS 13.16.620 or 13.16.625 terminates an appointment of a personal representative.
(c) A personal representative may resign the position by filing a written statement of resignation with the registrar after giving at least 15 days' written notice to the persons known to be interested in the estate. If no one applies or petitions for appointment of a successor representative within the time indicated in the notice, the filed statement of resignation is ineffective as a termination of appointment and in any event is effective only upon the appointment and qualification of a successor representative and delivery of the assets to that successor.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 6. Personal Representative; Appointment, Control and Termination of Authority. › Sec. 13.16.295. Termination of appointment by removal; cause; procedure.

(a) A person interested in the estate may petition for removal of a personal representative for cause at any time. Upon filing of the petition, the court shall fix a time and place for hearing. Notice shall be given by the petitioner to the personal representative, and to other persons as the court may order. Except as otherwise ordered as provided in AS 13.16.275, after receipt of notice of removal proceedings, the personal representative shall not act except to account, to correct maladministration or preserve the estate. If removal is ordered, the court also shall direct by order the disposition of the assets remaining in the name of, or under the control of, the personal representative being removed.
(b) Cause for removal exists when removal would be in the best interests of the estate, or if it is shown that a personal representative or the person seeking appointment intentionally misrepresented material facts in the proceedings leading to appointment, or that the personal representative has disregarded an order of the court, has become incapable of discharging the duties of the office, or has mismanaged the estate or failed to perform any duty pertaining to the office. Unless the decedent's will directs otherwise, a personal representative appointed at the decedent's domicile, incident to securing appointment either personally or for a nominee as ancillary personal representative, may obtain removal of another who was appointed personal representative in this state to administer local assets.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 6. Personal Representative; Appointment, Control and Termination of Authority. › Sec. 13.16.300. Termination of appointment; change of testacy status.

Except as otherwise ordered in formal proceedings, the probate of a will subsequent to the appointment of a personal representative in intestacy or under a will that is superseded by formal probate of another will, or the vacation of an informal probate of a will subsequent to the appointment of the personal representative under it, does not terminate the appointment of the personal representative although the personal representative's powers may be reduced as provided in AS 13.16.140. Termination occurs upon appointment in informal or formal appointment proceedings of a person entitled to appointment under the later assumption concerning testacy. If no request for new appointment is made within 30 days after expiration of time for appeal from the order in formal testacy proceedings, or from the informal probate, changing the assumption concerning testacy, the previously appointed personal representative upon request may be appointed personal representative under the subsequently probated will, or as in intestacy as the case may be.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 6. Personal Representative; Appointment, Control and Termination of Authority. › Sec. 13.16.305. Successor personal representative.

AS 13.16.080 - 13.16.205 govern proceedings for appointment of a personal representative to succeed one whose appointment has been terminated. After appointment and qualification, a successor personal representative may be substituted in all actions and proceedings to which the former personal representative was a party, and no notice, process, or claim that was given or served upon the former personal representative need be given to or served upon the successor in order to preserve any position or right the person giving the notice or filing the claim may thereby have obtained or preserved with reference to the former personal representative. Except as otherwise ordered by the court, the successor personal representative has the powers and duties in respect to the continued administration that the former personal representative would have had if the appointment had not been terminated.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 6. Personal Representative; Appointment, Control and Termination of Authority. › Sec. 13.16.310. Special administrator; appointment.

A special administrator may be appointed
(1) informally by the registrar on the application of any interested person when necessary to protect the estate of a decedent before the appointment of a general personal representative or if a prior appointment has been terminated as provided in AS 13.16.285;
(2) in a formal proceeding by order of the court on the petition of any interested person and finding, after notice and hearing, that appointment is necessary to preserve the estate or to secure its proper administration, including its administration in circumstances where a general personal representative cannot or should not act; if it appears to the court that an emergency exists, appointment may be ordered without notice.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 6. Personal Representative; Appointment, Control and Termination of Authority. › Sec. 13.16.315. Special administrator; who may be appointed.

(a) If a special administrator is to be appointed pending the probate of a will that is the subject of a pending application or petition for probate, the person named executor in the will shall be appointed if available and qualified.
(b) In other cases, any proper person may be appointed special administrator.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 6. Personal Representative; Appointment, Control and Termination of Authority. › Sec. 13.16.320. Special administrator appointed informally; powers and duties.

A special administrator appointed by the registrar in informal proceedings pursuant to AS 13.16.310(1) has the duty to collect and manage the assets of the estate, to preserve them, to account for them, and to deliver them to the general personal representative upon qualification. The special administrator has the power of a personal representative under AS 13.06 - AS 13.36 necessary to perform the special administrator's duties.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 6. Personal Representative; Appointment, Control and Termination of Authority. › Sec. 13.16.325. Special administrator appointed by court; power and duties.

A special administrator appointed by order of the court in any formal proceeding has the power of a general personal representative except as limited in the appointment and duties as prescribed in the order. The appointment may be for a specified time, to perform particular acts, or on other terms as the court may direct.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 6. Personal Representative; Appointment, Control and Termination of Authority. › Sec. 13.16.330. Termination of appointment; special administrator.

The appointment of a special administrator terminates in accordance with the provisions of the order of appointment or on the appointment of a general personal representative. In other cases, the appointment of a special administrator is subject to termination as provided in AS 13.16.280 - 13.16.295.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 7. Duties and Powers of Personal Representatives. › Sec. 13.16.340. Time of accrual of duties and powers.

The duties and powers of a personal representative commence upon appointment. The powers of a personal representative relate back in time to give acts by the person appointed that are beneficial to the estate occurring prior to appointment the same effect as those occurring thereafter. Prior to appointment, a person named executor in a will may carry out written instructions of the decedent relating to the decedent's body, funeral, and burial arrangements. A personal representative may ratify and accept acts on behalf of the estate done by others where the acts would have been proper for a personal representative.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 7. Duties and Powers of Personal Representatives. › Sec. 13.16.345. Priority among different letters.

A person to whom general letters are issued first has exclusive authority under the letters until the appointment is terminated or modified. If, through error, general letters are afterwards issued to another, the first appointed representative may recover any property of the estate in the hands of the representative subsequently appointed, but the acts of the latter done in good faith before notice of the first letters are not void for want of validity of appointment.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 7. Duties and Powers of Personal Representatives. › Sec. 13.16.350. General duties; standard of care; relation and liability to persons interested in estate; standing to sue.

(a) A personal representative is a fiduciary who shall observe the standards of care applicable to trustees under AS 13.36.225 - 13.36.290. A personal representative is under a duty to settle and distribute the estate of the decedent in accordance with the terms of any probated and effective will and AS 13.06 - AS 13.36, and as expeditiously and efficiently as is consistent with the best interests of the estate. A personal representative shall use the authority conferred by AS 13.06 - AS 13.36, the terms of the will, if any, and any order in proceedings to which the personal representative is party for the best interests of successors to the estate.
(b) A personal representative may not be surcharged for acts of administration or distribution if the conduct in question was authorized at the time. Subject to other obligations of administration, an informally probated will is authority to administer and distribute the estate according to its terms. An order of appointment of a personal representative, whether issued in informal or formal proceedings, is authority to distribute apparently intestate assets to the heirs of the decedent if, at the time of distribution, the personal representative is not aware of a pending testacy proceeding, a proceeding to vacate an order entered in an earlier testacy proceeding, a formal proceeding questioning the appointment or fitness to continue, or a supervised administration proceeding. Nothing in this section affects the duty of the personal representative to administer and distribute the estate in accordance with the rights of claimants, the surviving spouse, any minor and dependent children and any pretermitted child of the decedent as described elsewhere in AS 13.06 - AS 13.36.
(c) Except as to proceedings that do not survive the death of the decedent, a personal representative of a decedent domiciled in this state at death has the same standing to sue and be sued in the courts of this state and the courts of any other jurisdiction as the decedent had immediately before death.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 7. Duties and Powers of Personal Representatives. › Sec. 13.16.355. Personal representative to proceed without court order; exception.

A personal representative shall proceed expeditiously with the settlement and distribution of a decedent's estate and, except as otherwise specified or ordered in regard to a supervised personal representative, do so without adjudication, order, or direction of the court, but the personal representative may invoke the jurisdiction of the court, in proceedings authorized by AS 13.06 - AS 13.36, to resolve questions concerning the estate or its administration.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 7. Duties and Powers of Personal Representatives. › Sec. 13.16.360. Duty of personal representative; information to heirs and devisees.

Not later than 30 days after appointment, every personal representative, except any special administrator, shall give information of the appointment to the heirs and devisees, including, if there has been no formal testacy proceeding and if the personal representative was appointed on the assumption that the decedent died intestate, the devisees in any will mentioned in the application for appointment of a personal representative. The information shall be delivered or sent by ordinary mail to each of the heirs and devisees whose address is reasonably available to the personal representative. The duty does not extend to require information to persons who have been adjudicated in a prior formal testacy proceeding to have no interest in the estate. The information must include the name and address of the personal representative, indicate that it is being sent to persons who have or may have some interest in the estate being administered, indicate whether bond has been filed, and describe the court where papers relating to the estate are on file. The personal representative's failure to give this information is a breach of duty to the persons concerned but does not affect the validity of the appointment, the personal representative's powers or other duties. A personal representative may inform other persons of the appointment by delivery or ordinary first-class mail.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 7. Duties and Powers of Personal Representatives. › Sec. 13.16.365. Duty of personal representative; inventory and appraisal.

(a) Within three months after appointment, a personal representative, who is not a special administrator or a successor to another representative who has previously discharged this duty, shall prepare and file or mail an inventory of property owned by the decedent at the time of death, listing it with reasonable detail, and indicating as to each listed item, its fair market value as of the date of the decedent's death, and the type and amount of any encumbrance that may exist with reference to any item.
(b) The personal representative shall send a copy of the inventory to interested persons who request it. The personal representative may also file the original of the inventory with the court.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 7. Duties and Powers of Personal Representatives. › Sec. 13.16.370. Employment of appraisers.

The personal representative may employ a qualified and disinterested appraiser to assist in ascertaining the fair market value as of the date of the decedent's death of any asset the value of which may be subject to reasonable doubt. Different persons may be employed to appraise different kinds of assets included in the estate. The names and addresses of any appraiser shall be indicated on the inventory with the item or items appraised.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 7. Duties and Powers of Personal Representatives. › Sec. 13.16.375. Duty of personal representative; supplementary inventory.

If any property not included in the original inventory comes to the knowledge of a personal representative or if the personal representative learns that the value or description indicated in the original inventory for any item is erroneous or misleading, the personal representative shall make a supplementary inventory or appraisal showing the market value as of the date of the decedent's death of the new item or the revised market value or descriptions, and the appraisers or other data relied upon, if any, and file it with the court if the original inventory was filed, or furnish copies of it or information on it to persons interested in the new information.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 7. Duties and Powers of Personal Representatives. › Sec. 13.16.380. Duty of personal representative; possession of estate.

Except as otherwise provided by a decedent's will, every personal representative has a right to, and shall take possession or control of, the decedent's property, except that any real property or tangible personal property may be left with or surrendered to the person presumptively entitled to it unless or until, in the judgment of the personal representative, possession of the property by the personal representative will be necessary for purposes of administration. The request by a personal representative for delivery of any property possessed by an heir or devisee is conclusive evidence, in any action against the heir or devisee for possession of it, that the possession of the property by the personal representative is necessary for purposes of administration. The personal representative shall pay taxes on, and take all steps reasonably necessary for the management, protection, and preservation of, the estate in the personal representative's possession. The personal representative may maintain an action to recover possession of property or to determine the title to it.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 7. Duties and Powers of Personal Representatives. › Sec. 13.16.381. Disposition of unclaimed estate by personal representative.

When there is no taker of an intestate estate, or if an heir, devisee, or claimant cannot be found and the missing person has no conservator, the personal representative shall handle the
(1) unclaimed personal property of the estate in accordance with AS 34.45.280 - 34.45.780; and
(2) unclaimed real property of the estate in accordance with AS 38.95.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 7. Duties and Powers of Personal Representatives. › Sec. 13.16.385. Power to avoid transfers.

The property liable for the payment of unsecured debts of a decedent includes all property transferred by the decedent by any means that is in law void or voidable as against creditors, and subject to prior liens, the right to recover this property, so far as necessary for the payment of unsecured debts of the decedent, is exclusively in the personal representative.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 7. Duties and Powers of Personal Representatives. › Sec. 13.16.390. Powers of personal representatives; in general.

Until termination of appointment, a personal representative has the same power over the title to property of the estate that an absolute owner would have, in trust however, for the benefit of the creditors and others interested in the estate. This power may be exercised without notice, hearing, or order of court.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 7. Duties and Powers of Personal Representatives. › Sec. 13.16.395. Improper exercise of power; breach of fiduciary duty.

If the exercise of power concerning the estate is improper, the personal representative is liable to interested persons for damage or loss resulting from breach of fiduciary duty to the same extent as a trustee of an express trust. The rights of purchasers and others dealing with a personal representative shall be determined as provided in AS 13.16.400 and 13.16.405.
2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions › Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration › Article 7. Duties and Powers of Personal Representatives. › Sec. 13.16.400. Sale, encumbrance, or transaction involving conflict of interest voidable; exceptions.

Any sale or encumbrance to the personal representative, the personal representative's spouse, agent, or attorney, or any corporation or trust in which the personal representative has a substantial beneficial interest, or any transaction that is affected by a substantial conflict of interest on the part of the personal representative, is voidable by any person interested in the estate except one who has consented after fair disclosure, unless
(1) the will or a contract entered into by the decedent expressly authorized the transaction; or
(2) the transaction is approved by the court after notice to interested persons.