What Does Estate Planning Cost in Alaska?
An attorney-prepared revocable trust in Alaska runs $3,300Clio Legal Trends Report 2025Verified Jul 1, 2026View source to $4,950Clio Legal Trends Report 2025Verified Jul 1, 2026View source and a simple will $1,119Clio Legal Trends Report 2025Verified Jul 1, 2026View source to $2,238Clio Legal Trends Report 2025Verified Jul 1, 2026View source, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
Frequently Asked Questions
Estate planning costs in Alaska depend on the provider. An online service runs $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription. An attorney in Alaska charges around $330Clio Legal Trends Report 2025Verified Jul 1, 2026View source an hour for trust work, which puts an attorney-prepared trust at $3,300Clio Legal Trends Report 2025Verified Jul 1, 2026View source to $4,950Clio Legal Trends Report 2025Verified Jul 1, 2026View source for an individual plan.
A marriage, a divorce or a new child means updating the plan. Some providers require a whole new plan; others amend the existing one. An attorney amendment in Alaska typically costs $1,320Clio Legal Trends Report 2025Verified Jul 1, 2026View source to $2,640Clio Legal Trends Report 2025Verified Jul 1, 2026View source for a major change.
An online service costs less up front ($0 to $549) than an attorney in Alaska (around $330Clio Legal Trends Report 2025Verified Jul 1, 2026View source an hour for trust work). The lifetime figure turns on the subscription ($49 to $199 a year with most online services), the amendment charges, and how often life events require an update.
A trust costs more up front than a will and saves the probate the will route pays. In Alaska, an attorney-prepared trust typically costs $3,300Clio Legal Trends Report 2025Verified Jul 1, 2026View source to $4,950Clio Legal Trends Report 2025Verified Jul 1, 2026View source and a will $1,119Clio Legal Trends Report 2025Verified Jul 1, 2026View source to $2,238Clio Legal Trends Report 2025Verified Jul 1, 2026View source. Assets passing under a will go through probate, which adds about $27,032AS 13.16.440 (court reviews reasonableness of compensation paid to agents/attorneys employed by the estate; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source on a $500,000 estate for the heirs. The Alaska trust cost calculator carries the breakdown.
Probate in Alaska costs about $27,032AS 13.16.440 (court reviews reasonableness of compensation paid to agents/attorneys employed by the estate; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source on a $500,000 estate, counting attorney fees, executor fees, court costs and publication. An estate held in a funded trust bypasses probate and that cost entirely. The Alaska probate calculator estimates the fees for a given estate.
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New Baby or Adoption
Your family is growing. Your protection should too. Guardian nominations, trusts for minors, beneficiary updates, and the documents new parents need in place.
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Marriage
What married couples need in place: one joint trust or two, wills, beneficiary updates, and the spousal rights your state grants you automatically.
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New Home
How to put your house in a revocable trust: the deed you record, what it does to your mortgage and property taxes, and when a TOD deed is simpler.
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Retirement
Retirement changes your financial picture. Healthcare directives, beneficiary reviews, long-term care planning, and protecting what you've built.
Learn moreForms for Planning Your Estate in Alaska
Free forms for planning your estate in Alaska: a will, living trust, pour-over will, both powers of attorney, living will, and TOD deed.
Last Will and Testament
In Alaska, a will is signed before 2AS 13.12.502Verified Sep 15, 2026View source witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonyAS 13.12.502Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
Healthcare Power of Attorney
Alaska allows a choice for a healthcare power of attorney: 2AS 13.52.300Verified Jul 15, 2026View source witnesses or a notary.
Financial Power of Attorney
Alaska requires explicit durability language for a power of attorney to survive incapacityAS 13.26.600, AS 13.26.605, AS 13.26.610, AS 13.26.615, AS 13.26.620, AS 13.26.625, AS 13.26.645, AS 13.26.650, AS 13.26.660, AS 13.26.665, AS 13.26.670, AS 13.26.675, AS 13.26.680, AS 13.26.695; AS 40.17.080, AS 40.17.090, AS 40.17.110 (recording); AS 13.28.010-095 (interstate recognition)Verified Sep 18, 2026View source, and it is signed before a notaryAS 13.26.600, AS 13.26.605, AS 13.26.610, AS 13.26.615, AS 13.26.620, AS 13.26.625, AS 13.26.645, AS 13.26.650, AS 13.26.660, AS 13.26.665, AS 13.26.670, AS 13.26.675, AS 13.26.680, AS 13.26.695; AS 40.17.080, AS 40.17.090, AS 40.17.110 (recording); AS 13.28.010-095 (interstate recognition)Verified Sep 18, 2026View source.
Transfer on Death Deed
In Alaska, a transfer on death deed is signed before a notaryAS 13.48.010-.195Verified Aug 24, 2026, then recorded with the county before the owner's deathAS 13.48.010-.195Verified Aug 24, 2026.
Vehicle Transfer on Death
Name a beneficiary to inherit your vehicle at death without probate. Available in 26 states and the District of Columbia.
Living Will
In Alaska, the living will is the Advance Health Care DirectiveAS 13.52 (Health Care Decisions Act), §§ 13.52.010-13.52.395; as amended by ch. 24 SLA 26 (HB 195) and ch. 21 SLA 26 (SB 89)Verified Sep 27, 2026View source, a written instruction that is valid with no agent named.
Tools for Planning Your Estate in Alaska
Free tools for planning your estate in Alaska: what a will or trust costs, whether you need a trust or TOD deed, and how documents are signed.
How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?
In Alaska, four years at a public university cost about $85,936NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 330.20, public 4-year in-state tuition, fees, room and board, academic year 2022-23Verified Oct 3, 2026View source and the cost of living is near the U.S. averageBEA Regional Price Parities, all items, by state, 2024Verified Oct 3, 2026View source; no state estate or inheritance tax appliesAlaska levies no estate or inheritance tax. AS 43.31.011 (Estate Tax Law of Alaska) remains on the books but is an inert "pickup" tax — its amount is measured by "the credit allowable under the applicable federal revenue Act for estate, inheritance, legacy, and succession taxes actually paid to the several states," and that federal credit no longer exists, so the tax computes to $0. AS 43.31.400 keeps the chapter nominally operative so long as a federal estate tax exists, so this is an inert pickup rather than a repeal. Alaska Department of Revenue: "Alaska no longer has an estate tax. Alaska did have one until Jan. 1, 2005. The state estate tax was tied to the federal state death tax credit, and that credit was phased out in 2005." Alaska has no inheritance tax: AS 43.30 (Inheritance and Transfer Taxes) was repealed in full by § 1, ch. 24, SLA 1970, and the DOR tax-type list carries no inheritance tax program. Verified 2026-09-10.Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
Are My Beneficiary Designations Protected?
Alaska automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorceAS 13.12.804Verified Sep 15, 2026View source; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.
How Much Does Probate Cost?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in Alaska costs an estimated $27,032AS 13.16.440 (court reviews reasonableness of compensation paid to agents/attorneys employed by the estate; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source. Attorney fees run 2.1%AS 13.16.440 (court reviews reasonableness of compensation paid to agents/attorneys employed by the estate; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.3%AS 13.16.440 (court reviews reasonableness of compensation paid to agents/attorneys employed by the estate; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate under a reasonable-compensation standard.
Who Inherits Without a Will?
Without a will in Alaska, a surviving spouse takes the entire estateAS § 13.12.102Verified Sep 10, 2026View source when every child of either spouse is a child of both, and descendants divide what passes to them per capita at each generationAS § 13.12.106Verified Sep 10, 2026View source.
How Much Does a Revocable Living Trust Cost?
An attorney-prepared revocable living trust in Alaska runs $3,300Clio Legal Trends Report 2025Verified Jul 1, 2026View source to $4,950Clio Legal Trends Report 2025Verified Jul 1, 2026View source for an individual, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
How Much Does a Will Cost?
An attorney-prepared will in Alaska runs $1,119Clio Legal Trends Report 2025Verified Jul 1, 2026View source to $2,238Clio Legal Trends Report 2025Verified Jul 1, 2026View source, against $0 to $299 up front with an online service, and probate on a $500,000 estate adds about $27,032AS 13.16.440 (court reviews reasonableness of compensation paid to agents/attorneys employed by the estate; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source.
How Does SimplyTrust Compare to LegalZoom, Trust & Will, and Other Services?
Compare what it costs to make a trust official across SimplyTrust, LegalZoom, Trust & Will, Rocket Lawyer, and Quicken WillMaker.
How Do I Name a Guardian for My Minor Children?
In Alaska, a parent names a guardian for a minor child in a willAS 13.26.121, 13.26.126, 13.26.132Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, and the nomination covers the child until the age of majority, 18AS 25.20.010Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
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Alaska Estate Planning Resources
In-depth guides covering Alaska probate laws, trust requirements, and estate planning strategies.