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Alaska Transfer on Death Deed

An Alaska transfer on death deed names a beneficiary to receive your real property without probate. It must be notarized and recorded in the recording district before your death. No witnesses are required. Attorney review available.

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Introduction

Alaska records a transfer on death deed by recording district through the Department of Natural Resources rather than by county, and it is a deed you sign and record while you are alive that names a beneficiary to receive your real property automatically at your death, without probate. It is authorized by the Alaska Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act (AS 13.48.010-.190), and the Alaska Court System publishes an official form, P-150, for it. During your life the deed has no effect on your ownership: you keep full control and can sell, mortgage, or revoke it, and the beneficiary has no interest until you die. To be valid in Alaska, the deed must be acknowledged before a notary or other officer authorized to take acknowledgments. Alaska does not require witnesses. The deed must be recorded before your death, or it will not be effective, and it must be recorded in each recording district where any part of the property is located (Alaska records deeds by recording district through the Department of Natural Resources, not by county). There is no fixed deadline after signing, but recording must happen while you are alive. You can revoke the deed in three ways: record a Revocation of Transfer on Death Deed (form P-151), record a new transfer on death deed (form P-150) that disposes of the same property, or transfer the property during your life by a recorded deed that expressly revokes it. A will cannot revoke an Alaska transfer on death deed. The court form warns that using a transfer on death deed may affect the beneficiary's eligibility for public assistance and may affect creditors' rights. DocDraft builds your Alaska transfer on death deed from your facts, with attorney review available before you sign.

Key Things to Know

  1. 1

    In Alaska a transfer on death deed is a deed you record while alive that names a beneficiary to receive your real property automatically at your death, without probate. It is authorized by the Alaska Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act (AS 13.48.010-.190).

  2. 2

    During your life the deed has no effect on your ownership. You keep full control and can sell, mortgage, or revoke it, and the beneficiary has no interest in the property until you die.

  3. 3

    To be valid the deed must be acknowledged before a notary or other officer authorized to take acknowledgments. Alaska does not require any witnesses.

  4. 4

    The deed must be recorded before your death, or it will not be effective. You record it in each recording district where any part of the property is located, through the Department of Natural Resources recorder, not a county office.

  5. 5

    There is no fixed deadline to record after signing, but recording must happen while you are alive, so recording promptly is the safe course.

  6. 6

    You can revoke the deed three ways: record a Revocation of Transfer on Death Deed (form P-151), record a new transfer on death deed (form P-150) for the same property, or transfer the property during life by a recorded deed that expressly revokes it. A will cannot revoke it.

  7. 7

    The Alaska Court System publishes official forms P-150 for the deed and P-151 for the revocation. The court form notes the deed may affect the beneficiary eligibility for public assistance and may affect creditors rights.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Transfer on Death Deed in Alaska, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Transfer on Death Deed guide walks through them.

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TRANSFER ON DEATH DEED (Alaska Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, AS 13.48.010-.190)

Recording requested by: [YOUR NAME] When recorded, return this deed to: [NAME], [ADDRESS] Recording district: [RECORDING DISTRICT]

Important notice: This form must be recorded before your death, or it will not be effective. You must record it in each recording district where any part of the property is located. Alaska records deeds by recording district through the Department of Natural Resources, not by county. There is no fixed deadline after signing, so record it promptly.

  1. Owner (transferor). The owner is [OWNER FULL NAME], residing at [OWNER ADDRESS], who owns the real property described below.

  2. Property. The property is located in the [RECORDING DISTRICT] Recording District, Alaska, and is legally described as: [FULL LEGAL DESCRIPTION FROM THE CURRENT DEED], commonly known as [STREET ADDRESS].

  3. Beneficiary. Before my death, I designate the following beneficiary to receive my interest in the described property at my death, if the beneficiary survives me: [BENEFICIARY FULL NAME]. If I name more than one beneficiary, they take the property as stated here: [SHARES]. If a beneficiary does not survive me, that share passes as Alaska law provides or to the alternate I name here: [ALTERNATE BENEFICIARY FULL NAME].

  4. Revocability and effect. This deed is revocable. It does not transfer any interest until my death, and it has no effect on my ownership while I am alive; I may sell, mortgage, lease, or revoke it without the beneficiary's consent. Before my death I may revoke this deed in three ways: record a Revocation of Transfer on Death Deed (form P-151); record a new transfer on death deed (form P-150) for this property; or transfer the property during my life by a recorded deed that expressly revokes this deed. I may not revoke this deed by will.

  5. Warning. The beneficiary takes the property subject to any mortgages, liens, and claims on the property at my death. Using a transfer on death deed may affect the beneficiary's eligibility for public assistance and may affect creditors' rights. This deed passes only the property described above and does not change my other assets or my will.

  6. What the beneficiary does at my death. To claim the property, the beneficiary records, in each recording district where the property is located, proof of my death such as an affidavit together with a certified copy of the death certificate. Until the beneficiary records that proof, the records continue to show me as the owner.

Signature. I sign this deed on [DATE].

[OWNER FULL NAME], Transferor

Notary acknowledgment. [Alaska acknowledgment block; the transferor's signature must be acknowledged before a notary or other officer authorized to take acknowledgments. Alaska does not require witnesses.]

Note: This Alaska deed follows the Alaska Court System form P-150 and must be recorded in each recording district where the property is located before the owner's death. For the generic template and other states, see the Transfer on Death Deed hub.

Once your Transfer on Death Deed is ready, you can check whether it needs to be notarized in Alaska in about a minute, and notarize it online through DocDraft if it does.

Alaska Requirements for Transfer on Death Deed

Use the Alaska Court System Form P-150

Alaska authorizes a transfer on death deed under the Alaska Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act (AS 13.48.010-.190), and the Alaska Court System publishes an official form P-150 the deed may follow, with form P-151 for revocation.

Legal Description of the Property

The full legal description of the property from the current recorded deed, plus the street address and the recording district. A street address alone is not enough to record the deed.

Name the Beneficiary and an Alternate

The full legal name of the beneficiary who will receive the property at the owner death, and an alternate beneficiary if the first does not survive. Naming a backup keeps the property out of probate if the first beneficiary dies first.

Notarize the Signature

The owner must sign the deed and have the signature acknowledged before a notary or other officer authorized to take acknowledgments. Without a valid acknowledgment the deed cannot be recorded.

No Witnesses Required

Alaska does not require witnesses for a transfer on death deed. Acknowledgment before a notary is the execution formality, unlike some states that require two witnesses.

Record in the Recording District Before Death

The deed must be recorded before the owner death, or it will not be effective, and it must be recorded in each recording district where any part of the property is located. Alaska records by recording district through the Department of Natural Resources, not by county.

Revoke by One of Three Recorded Methods

Before death the owner may revoke by recording a Revocation of Transfer on Death Deed (form P-151), by recording a new transfer on death deed (form P-150) for the same property, or by transferring the property during life by a recorded deed that expressly revokes it. A will cannot revoke it.

Know the Public Assistance and Creditor Warnings

The Alaska Court System form warns that using a transfer on death deed may affect the beneficiary eligibility for public assistance and may affect creditors rights. The beneficiary takes the property subject to existing mortgages, liens, and claims.

Does your Transfer on Death Deed need to be notarized in Alaska?

Whether a Transfer on Death Deed needs to be notarized depends on your state. Upload yours, pick your state, and get the current rule with the official source behind it, free and with no account. If yours does need a notary, online notarization is part of your DocDraft plan.

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Frequently Asked Questions

In Alaska a transfer on death deed is a deed you sign and record while you are alive that names a beneficiary to receive your real property automatically when you die, without probate. It is authorized by the Alaska Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act (AS 13.48.010-.190). During your lifetime it has no effect on your ownership: you keep full control and can sell or revoke it, and the beneficiary has no interest until you die. It passes only the property described in the deed.

An Alaska will directs who inherits your property, but the property still passes through probate, the court process that can take months. An Alaska transfer on death deed passes the specific real property it names directly to the beneficiary at your death, outside probate. The will covers your whole estate; the transfer on death deed covers only the real property it describes. Many Alaskans use both, so the deed handles the property and the will handles everything else.

To be valid in Alaska the deed must be acknowledged before a notary or other officer authorized to take acknowledgments, and it must be recorded before your death, or it will not be effective. Alaska does not require witnesses. You can use the Alaska Court System official form P-150. Recording the deed in each recording district where the property is located, while you are alive, is what makes it effective.

No witnesses are required in Alaska; the deed must be acknowledged before a notary, not witnessed. There is also no fixed number of days to record after signing. The rule is that the deed must be recorded before your death, or it will not be effective, so recording promptly after you sign is the safe practice.

Alaska records deeds by recording district through the Department of Natural Resources, not by county. You must record the transfer on death deed in each recording district where any part of the property is located, and you must do so before your death. The recorder charges a recording fee. If the property spans more than one recording district, record the deed in each district that covers part of it.

Yes. You can revoke an Alaska transfer on death deed while you are alive in three ways: record a Revocation of Transfer on Death Deed (form P-151) in each recording district where the property is located; record a new transfer on death deed (form P-150) that disposes of the same property; or transfer the property during your life by a recorded deed that expressly revokes it. A will cannot revoke an Alaska transfer on death deed.

After your death, the beneficiary records proof of your death, such as an affidavit and a certified copy of the death certificate, in each recording district where the property is located, so the public record shows the transfer. Until the beneficiary records that proof, the records continue to show you as the owner. The beneficiary takes the property subject to any mortgages, liens, and claims that exist on it.

The Alaska Court System form warns that using a transfer on death deed may affect the beneficiary eligibility for public assistance and may affect creditors rights, and the beneficiary takes the property subject to existing debts and liens. The deed passes only the property it describes and does not replace a will for the rest of your estate. For larger or more complex estates, a living trust or other tool may fit better, and attorney review is available.