Living-Trust Trustee Deed Requirements in Alaska

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Alaska supplies broad powers but leaves the trust in control

AS 13.36.105 attaches trustee powers to the office unless the trust, an amendment, or a court order provides otherwise. Under §§ 13.36.107 and .109, a trustee acts without ordinary court authorization and may dispose of property at a public or private sale for cash or credit, exchange or partition it, encumber it, distribute it in divided or undivided interests, and execute useful instruments.

AS 13.36.192 permits the settlor to alter or deny those statutory powers. It does not permit the settlor to relieve the trustee from the special self- and related-party restriction in § 13.36.150.

Cotrustee and directed-advisor rules depend on the instrument

Alaska's surveyed provisions do not state one universal majority formula for every cotrusteeship. AS 13.36.110 instead recognizes that a trust may require unanimous consent, protects a written dissenter who joins because of that requirement, and protects a trustee who is not authorized to exercise the power.

Under AS 13.36.375, an advisor is ordinarily advisory and the trustee keeps the power. The trust can reverse that default by requiring the trustee to follow the advisor's directions; the statute then allocates liability to the advisor and protects the complying trustee. A trust protector has only the powers and functions conferred by the instrument under § 13.36.370.

A related-party sale needs express trust authorization

The court may add, relieve, or restrict trustee powers under § 13.36.107, but an ordinary arm's-length conveyance needs no universal preapproval. Section 13.36.150 separately bars a direct or indirect trust sale to or from the trustee, an affiliate, listed insiders, or listed related persons unless the trust expressly authorizes it.

That exception is narrow. Sections 13.36.192 and .194 say neither settlor relief nor beneficiary relief can override the § 13.36.150 restriction. Section 13.36.196 permits court relief from duties and restrictions for cause, but does not expressly create an alternative authorization route for the prohibited sale.

The deed must show representative capacity and satisfy Alaska formality

AS 34.15.010 calls for a deed signed and sealed by the disposing person or a lawful agent. An in-state conveyance is acknowledged or proved under § 34.15.150. The historical two-witness language in subsection (b) validates old pre-1953 deeds; it does not impose two witnesses on a current acknowledged trustee deed.

Representative-capacity wording matters. Under AS 13.36.175(e), adding “trustee” or “as trustee” after the signature presumptively excludes personal contract liability unless rebutted by clear and convincing evidence. An acknowledged and recorded fiduciary deed also receives the authority, delivery, and validity presumptions in AS 40.17.090.

Certification can establish authority without the dispositive terms

AS 13.36.079 allows a trustee to furnish a certification to a nonbeneficiary instead of the trust instrument unless the trust says otherwise. Its eight content groups include the trust's TIN if it has one and the manner of taking title. Any trustee may authenticate it.

The recipient may require only excerpts designating the trustee and supplying the pending-transaction power. The certification section does not make the certificate a universal deed attachment or give it authority to cure a power the trust withholds.

Alaska records by district, not county

AS 40.17.020 requires filing in each recording district containing affected land. Sections 40.17.030 and .110 require an acknowledged document with an original or permitted electronic signature, title, indexing information, return address, grantor and grantee mailing addresses, recording-district name, and the applicable fee.

Recording gives constructive notice under § 40.17.080 and activates the presumptions in § 40.17.090. An unrecorded deed remains valid between its parties and against a person with actual notice, but can lose to a later innocent good-faith purchaser for value whose conveyance records first.

What trips people up

Unanimity can come from the trust. AS 13.36.110 addresses the consequences of a required unanimous decision; it does not supply a universal statutory majority shortcut.

A trust advisor may or may not direct. Unless the trust requires compliance, the trustee retains the power and need not follow the advice.

Certification is not a statutory recording companion. It is useful authority evidence, but § 13.36.079 does not require it to accompany every deed.

Common questions

May an Alaska trustee sell privately on credit? Yes. AS 13.36.109(4) expressly authorizes that form of sale, subject to the trust and statutory restrictions.

May a trustee sell the property to itself? Only if the trust instrument expressly authorizes the transaction under § 13.36.150.

Does the deed need two witnesses? No current two-witness requirement appears in the cited execution statute. The ordinary route is acknowledgment, with the separate statutory proof alternatives preserved.

Statutes and sources

• AS 13.36.079, .105, .107, .109, .110, .150, .175, .192, .194, .196, .370, and .375 — certification, trustee powers, cotrustees, conflicts, representative capacity, and directed-advisor/protector rules. Alaska State Legislature (accessed 2026-08-13).
• AS 34.15.010 and .150 — deed, signature, seal, acknowledgment, proof, and witness history. Alaska State Legislature (accessed 2026-08-13).
• AS 40.17.020, .030, .080, .090, and .110 — recording districts, document fields, acknowledgment, notice, priority, and presumptions. Alaska State Legislature (accessed 2026-08-13).