Revocable Living Trust Creation Requirements in Alaska

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Alaska's selected statutory framework

AS 13.36 supplies trust registration, court jurisdiction, trustee acceptance, certification, selected administration rules, and revocability. It does not provide a comprehensive Uniform Trust Code creation checklist. The cited provisions state no general adult capacity formula, definite-beneficiary test, lawful-purpose test, nominal property minimum, or sole-trustee/sole-beneficiary merger rule for an ordinary living trust.

AS 13.36.035(d) identifies settlor capacity as a matter governed by Alaska law for a trust with a qualifying state-jurisdiction provision, but does not state the capacity standard. A will-capacity rule should not be imported without an express statutory link.

Written and oral creation, trustee acceptance, and funding

Alaska expressly recognizes both written and oral trusts. AS 13.36.010 requires registration of a written inter vivos trust by settlor, original trustee, and instrument date. For an oral trust, the filing identifies the settlor or source of funds, creation time and manner, subject matter, beneficiaries, and time of performance. AS 13.36.192 also refers to a trust created by writing and one created orally.

A separate trustee accepts under § 13.36.071 through the trust method or, if missing or nonexclusive, delivery of property, exercise of trustee powers, performance of duties, or other conduct indicating acceptance. The cited sections state no universal nominal funding amount. A deed, assignment, account change, designation, or delivery may still be needed before the trust controls a particular asset.

Statute-of-frauds writing rules

Oral recognition does not erase AS 09.25.010. An agreement to establish a trust, and a conveyance or assignment of a trust in personal property, is unenforceable unless it or a note or memorandum is written and subscribed by the party charged or that party's agent.

Real property is stricter. A trust or power concerning real property must arise by operation of law or by a conveyance or other instrument subscribed by the creator, transferor, or declarant, or by that person's agent under written authority, and executed with the formalities required by law. The cited trust rules impose no universal witness or notary requirement on every personal- property trust instrument.

Revocability and revocation method

AS 13.36.338 makes a trust executed on or after August 30, 2000 revocable unless expressly irrevocable, but only when the settlor was domiciled in Alaska at creation, the instrument was executed in Alaska, or the trust chooses Alaska law.

Under § 13.36.340, the settlor may substantially comply with the trust method or use a nonwill writing signed by the settlor and delivered to the trustee during life, unless the trust expressly makes its own method exclusive. An attorney-in-fact may modify or revoke only when the trust instrument expressly permits it.

Mandatory registration and separate real-property recording

Alaska requires registration when the trust's principal place of administration is in the state. AS 13.36.005 uses “shall,” and § 13.36.020 subjects a trustee to removal, denied compensation, or surcharge for failing to register within 30 days after a settlor's or beneficiary's written demand. The trust cannot excuse that duty. Registration does not create continuing judicial supervision under § 13.36.035(b).

Section 13.36.079 separately permits an optional certification for dealings with nonbeneficiaries. It may state the trust's existence, settlor, trustee, powers, revocability, and title form. Certification does not replace registration or transfer title to each asset.

Real-property recording does different work. Under AS 40.17.080, recording in the district where the land lies gives constructive notice. An unrecorded conveyance remains valid between the parties and against a person with actual notice, but can lose to a later good-faith purchaser for value who records first.

What trips people up

Registration is not optional merely because certification is optional. Alaska requires the former for a trust principally administered in the state and permits the latter as a short-form disclosure to third parties.

Common questions

Can an Alaska trust be oral?

Alaska recognizes oral trusts, but the statute of frauds requires subscribed writings for an agreement to establish a trust, a conveyance or assignment of a personal-property trust, and a trust concerning real property. The precise transaction determines which writing rule applies.

Must the trust instrument be notarized?

The cited statutes state no universal notary rule for every personal-property trust instrument. A separate recordable real-property conveyance follows its own execution and acknowledgment rules.

Must the trust be registered?

Yes, if its principal place of administration is in Alaska, subject to the retained-foreign-court exception in AS 13.36.005(b).

Statutes and sources

• AS 13.36.005, .010, .020, and .035 — mandatory registration, filing contents, consequences, and no continuing supervision. Official current text (accessed 2026-07-30).
• AS 13.36.071 and .079 — trustee acceptance and optional certification. Official current text (accessed 2026-07-30).
• AS 13.36.192 — express recognition of written and oral creation. Official current text (accessed 2026-07-30).
• AS 13.36.338 and .340 — revocability nexus and modification/revocation methods. Official current text (accessed 2026-07-30).
• AS 09.25.010 — subscribed writings for trust agreements, personal- property trust assignments, and real-property trusts. Official current text (accessed 2026-07-30).
• AS 40.17.080 — constructive notice and race-notice effect. Official current text (accessed 2026-07-30).