Juneau firm founded in 1977, serving Southeast Alaska from Ketchikan to Yakutat before the First Judicial District courts. Probates wills and intestate estates, handling debts, court filings, and distributions, counsels trustees through trust administration, and takes on disputes over will validity and personal representative conduct.
Probate in Sitka City and Borough
Probate Court Record
Sitka City and Borough Superior Court
Sitka City and Borough · 1st Judicial District
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Hours
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Self-represented filing
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Sitka City and Borough →
Verified October 15, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Sitka City and Borough? →Settling an estate in Sitka City and Borough →
Trust Administration Firms Serving Sitka City and Borough
James McMahon, Attorney & Counselor at Law
Solo practice in Juneau, in the First Judicial District, serving Southeast Alaska. James McMahon has been admitted in Alaska since 2011.
Juneau firm serving the entire state from offices in Juneau and Fairbanks, with attorneys also based in Glennallen and Wrangell. Works with trustees on trust administration and takes families through probate when assets were never titled to a trust: collecting assets, paying debts, and distributing to beneficiaries or heirs. Charges flat fees for estate and trust administration.
Downtown Anchorage firm representing personal representatives and heirs through contested and uncontested probate in the Third Judicial District court, taking matters from anywhere in the state — Mat-Su Valley to Juneau to Utqiagvik. Also handles small-estate affidavits of collection, ancillary probate for out-of-state decedents, trust administration, and contested guardianships.
Wasilla practice on Seward Meridian Parkway serving clients in Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley. Offers probate services to families settling an estate and helps trustees administer a trust: inventorying assets, paying debts, and distributing to the beneficiaries. Attorney Tayva Taylor also guides families through the probate court's appointment of a guardian or conservator.
Anchorage estate firm on B Street serving clients across Alaska, from the Interior to Southeast and the Kenai. Guides personal representatives through probate, including estates with property in other states, and trustees through trust administration, from asset collection and tax filings to court-approved changes. Also plans with Alaska community property trusts.
All 10 Alaska trust administration firms serving Sitka City and Borough →
Forms for Planning and Settling an Estate in Alaska
Free Alaska forms to plan or settle an estate: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed and the probate forms. Prepare each form for Alaska.
Revocable Living Trust
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
Pour-Over Will
In Alaska, a pour-over will is signed before 2AS 13.12.502Verified Oct 18, 2026View source witnesses and moves anything left outside the trust into it through probate.
Tools for Planning and Settling an Estate in Alaska
Free calculators and checklists to plan or settle an estate in Alaska: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay and taxes. Run each tool for Alaska.
How Do I Settle a Trust?
Settling a trust in Alaska happens outside court: the trustee acts under the state's trust statuteAS 13.36 (Trust Administration; Alaska Trust Act)Verified Oct 17, 2026View source, notifies the beneficiaries within 30 daysAS 13.36.080, 13.36.100Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, then pays the debts and distributes under the trust's terms.
What's Fair Trustee Compensation?
In Alaska, trustee compensation follows "reasonable compensation" (UTC § 708 or equivalent)AS 13.36.055Verified Sep 18, 2026View source unless the trust instrument sets a different amount.
How Do I Settle an Estate?
Settling an estate in Alaska: the personal representative files the estate inventory within 90 daysAS 13.16.365, 13.16.370, 13.16.375Verified Sep 15, 2026View source of appointment; creditors have 4 monthsAS 13.16.450, 13.16.460, 13.16.465, 13.16.470, 13.16.475Verified Oct 18, 2026View source to present claims; a simple estate closes in 4 months to 6 months.
Do I Have to File Tax Returns for Someone Who Died?
Alaska has no state income tax, so only the federal final Form 1040 is due for the decedentAS 43.20.012(a)(1)-(2) (Alaska Net Income Tax Act does not apply to an individual or a fiduciary); AS 43.20.010 (tax on individuals and fiduciaries) repealed by § 13, ch. 70, SLA 1975; AS 43.20.011(a)-(d) and AS 43.20.033/.035 (taxable income of fiduciaries) repealed by § 10, ch. 1, SSSLA 1980Verified Sep 20, 2026View source; a federal estate tax return (Form 706) is required only for estates above $15,000,00026 USC 2001(c), 2010; P.L. 119-21 §70106Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
How Does Step-Up in Basis Work?
Inherited assets in Alaska take a basis reset to fair market value on the date of death26 USC § 1014Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, and the gain on a later sale faces no state capital gains taxAS 43.20.012(a) (Limitation on application of chapter) — "The tax imposed by this chapter does not apply to (1) an individual; (2) a fiduciary"Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
