Transfer on death deed in Alaska

Alaska at a glance

TOD deed for real estate

Yes

Name in Alaska law

Transfer on death deed

Law

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

Notary

Required

Witnesses

None

When to record

Before the death

Where to record

State Recorder's Office (Department of Natural Resources) for the recording district where the property is located

After-death document

No specific filing named in the law

Notice to heirs

Not required

Official form

Yes

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Making a valid TOD deed in Alaska

• What the law does. An owner can sign and record a deed that passes Alaska real estate to named beneficiaries at the owner's death without probate, and can revoke it during life.
• Signing. The owner signs a deed with all the formalities of a recordable deed, which includes acknowledgment before a notary or other official. No witnesses are required. Capacity needed is the same as for a will. A deed or revocation obtained by fraud, duress, or undue influence is void. A deed that names beneficiaries only as a class (for example 'my children') is void.
• Recording. The deed must be recorded before the owner's death in the recording district where the land is. The statute sets no deadline after signing. A deed not recorded before death has no effect.
• Payment, delivery, acceptance. No payment is needed, and no notice to, delivery to, or acceptance by the beneficiary during the owner's life.
• Form. Statutory form in Alaska Stat. § 13.48.120 (revocation form § 13.48.130); Alaska Court System forms P-150 (TOD deed) and P-151 (revocation).

Changing it, and who you can name

• Revoking or changing. Revoke by recording, before death, a later TOD deed, a revocation instrument, or a regular deed that expressly revokes it (or a regular deed transferring the property, to that extent), acknowledged after the original deed. Tearing up a recorded deed does not revoke it. A will cannot revoke it. An agent may revoke only if a recorded power of attorney or the TOD deed expressly allows it. For joint owners, all living joint owners must revoke.
• Beneficiaries. Any person, including individuals, trusts, and entities, may be named, but not by class description alone. Alternate beneficiaries may be named. A beneficiary must survive the owner; if not, that share lapses and goes to the other named beneficiaries unless an alternate is named. Multiple beneficiaries take equal shares as tenants in common.

After the owner dies

• Where. State Recorder's Office for the recording district where the property is located
• Steps. The statute does not name a document for the beneficiary to record after the death; title passes at death by the recorded deed. The Alaska Court System self-help page says property with a recorded TOD deed transfers to the named beneficiaries and is not part of the probate estate. No official Alaska source found describes the recording step (for example, recording a death certificate or affidavit).

Debts, Medicaid and the spouse

• Creditors and Medicaid. If the probate estate cannot pay allowed claims, administration costs, or allowances to a surviving spouse or child, the estate can recover from the TOD property, split by net value. A proceeding must start within 12 months after death and only after the personal representative receives a written demand. During the owner's life the deed does not change public-assistance eligibility. The official sources do not say how Medicaid estate recovery applies to TOD property; ask the state Medicaid agency. The Alaska Court System warns that because creditors have one year after death to claim against TOD property, a sale, mortgage, or title insurance can be delayed; some title companies ask the new owner to open a probate, and the new owner pays the property's expenses meanwhile.
• Surviving spouse. The transfer is subject to the Alaska elective-share and related probate rules the statute cross-references (AS 13.12.203 and others), and to statutory allowances to a surviving spouse or child if the estate is short.

Good to know in Alaska

• Alaska has recording districts, not county recorders.
• A challenge to capacity or claiming fraud, duress, or undue influence must be filed within 12 months after the owner's death (§ 13.48.045).
• If the owner held title with a right of survivorship and other joint owners survive, the property goes to them, not the TOD beneficiary (§ 13.48.090(c)).
• The beneficiary takes subject to mortgages and liens; the deed carries no warranty of title.
• Effective date 7/21/14 is from the Legislature's bill record for HB 60 (ch. 10 SLA 14).
• Alaska law names no document for the beneficiary to record after the death; ask the recorder's office what it needs.

Official pages

• Alaska TOD deed form
• Alaska statute
• Alaska self-help page
• No TOD deed or other plan? How Alaska handles a small estate without probate →

Sources

• Alaska Statutes ch. 13.48 (print view, akleg.gov) (read October 28, 2026)
• Alaska Legislature HB 60 (28th Leg.) bill detail: ch. 10 SLA 14, effective 7/21/14 (read October 28, 2026)
• Alaska Court System form P-150 Transfer on Death Deed (read October 28, 2026)
• Alaska Court System form P-151 Revocation of Transfer on Death Deed (read October 28, 2026)
• Alaska Court System self-help: Transfer on Death Deed (read October 28, 2026)

Legal information from the official sources above, not legal advice. A TOD deed can affect Medicaid, taxes, creditors and co-owners; for a decision about your own property, ask the county recorder, a legal aid office or a lawyer. How we check: methodology.