Alaska: Living-Trust Trustee Deed Requirements

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).