Alaska: Revocable Living Trust Creation Requirements

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).