Probate Family Allowance Requirements in Alaska

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Claimants, domicile, and payment routing

Alaska Stat. § 13.12.401 applies the allowance provisions to an Alaska domiciliary's estate, subject to AS 13.06.068, and sends a nonresident decedent's allowance rights to the law of that person's domicile at death.

Section 13.12.404 covers the surviving spouse, minor children whom the decedent was obligated to support, and children whom the decedent was actually supporting. Payment normally goes to the living spouse for the spouse and minor or dependent children. If no spouse is living, it goes to the children or their caregivers. A child living elsewhere may receive a separate part directly or through a guardian or caregiver according to need.

Amount, property, and duration

The family allowance is a reasonable amount in estate money for maintenance during administration. Under § 13.12.405, the personal representative may determine and pay up to $18,000 as a lump sum or $1,500 per month for one year.

Those figures limit the personal representative, not the court. The personal representative or an interested person aggrieved by a selection, determination, payment, proposed payment, or failure to act may petition for appropriate relief, including an allowance different from what the representative determined or could have determined.

If the estate cannot discharge allowed claims, § 13.12.404 limits family support to one year. The statute does not impose that same outside duration on a sufficient estate. It also states no fixed request deadline. A recipient's death terminates that person's right to family allowance not yet paid.

Homestead, exempt property, and priority

Alaska Stat. § 13.12.402 provides a $27,000 homestead allowance to the spouse. If there is no spouse, minor and dependent children divide that amount equally.

Section 13.12.403 adds up to $10,000 net value in household furniture, automobiles, furnishings, appliances, personal effects, or substitute estate assets. It belongs to the spouse or, if there is no spouse, to the children jointly.

The homestead allowance is first and is ahead of every estate claim. The family allowance follows homestead and is ahead of all claims. Exempt property and deficiency assets are ahead of claims too, but substitute assets used to fill a property shortfall abate as needed for earlier homestead and family payments.

Procedure and proof

The family allowance is a statutory entitlement, and the personal representative may make the initial determination and disburse estate funds. Sections 13.12.401 through 13.12.405 state no special verified or notarized petition, service list, mandatory attachments, proof standard, mandatory initial hearing, or fixed family-allowance filing deadline.

For homestead and exempt property, the spouse, minor-child guardians, or adult children may select estate property. The personal representative may select if those people cannot or do not act within a reasonable time, or if a minor lacks a guardian. Specifically devised property is protected from these two property rights when the estate is otherwise sufficient; § 13.12.405 does not state the same protection for family-allowance money.

Inheritance effect and waiver

The family allowance is additional to a benefit or share passing by will, intestacy, or elective share unless the will provides otherwise. Sections 13.12.402 and 13.12.403 apply the same basic rule to homestead and exempt property.

Under § 13.12.213, the spouse may waive any of the three allowance rights wholly or partly before or after marriage through a signed written contract, agreement, or waiver. A waiver is not enforceable if the spouse proves it was involuntary. An unconscionable waiver is also unenforceable when the spouse proves the statute's combined failures involving financial disclosure, written disclosure waiver, and adequate knowledge.

What trips people up

• The $18,000 figure limits the personal representative, not the court. An aggrieved person may seek a different amount under § 13.12.405.
• One year is an inadequate-estate ceiling. The entitlement section does not state the same outside cap when the estate can discharge allowed claims.
• Death ends unpaid support for every recipient class. Alaska states no separate surviving-spouse continuation rule.
• The companion child classes differ. Homestead is divided among minor and dependent children if no spouse survives; exempt property then goes to children jointly without those adjectives in § 13.12.403.

Common questions

Can the allowance be divided when a child lives elsewhere?

Yes. Section 13.12.404 permits part to go to the child, guardian, or caregiver and part to the surviving spouse according to need.

What happens to unspent allowances for an incapacitated spouse?

If an elective share is exercised on behalf of an incapacitated spouse, § 13.12.405(b) permits the personal representative to add unexpended homestead, exempt-property, and family-allowance portions to the statutory trust.

Does the spouse's waiver need witnesses or notarization?

Section 13.12.213 requires a written contract, agreement, or waiver signed by the surviving spouse. It does not add a witness or acknowledgment requirement.

Statutes and sources

• Alaska Stat. § 13.12.401 — domicile rule (accessed August 3, 2026).
• Alaska Stat. § 13.12.402 — $27,000 homestead allowance, claimant class, priority, and inheritance effect (accessed August 3, 2026).
• Alaska Stat. § 13.12.403 — $10,000 exempt property, claimant class, priority, and inheritance effect (accessed August 3, 2026).
• Alaska Stat. § 13.12.404 — family eligibility, duration, routing, priority, inheritance effect, and death cutoff (accessed August 3, 2026).
• Alaska Stat. § 13.12.405 — $18,000 personal-representative ceiling, selection, payment, court relief, and incapacitated-spouse trust (accessed August 3, 2026).
• Alaska Stat. § 13.12.213 — signed waiver and enforceability rules (accessed August 3, 2026).