Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: Alaska adopted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act at AS 13.48. A deed must be acknowledged and recorded in every recording district where the property lies before the owner dies, it is revocable at any time no matter what it says, and a beneficiary who does not outlive the owner gets nothing unless the owner named an alternate.
Recording before death is one of four listed requirements, not a formality
A transfer on death deed (1) except as otherwise provided in (2) and (3) of this section, must contain the essential elements and formalities of a properly recordable inter vivos deed; (2) must state that the transfer to the designated beneficiary is to occur at the transferor’s death; (3) may not use a beneficiary designation that only identifies beneficiaries as members of a class; a transfer on death deed that uses a beneficiary designation that only identifies beneficiaries as members of a class is void; and (4) must be recorded before the transferor’s death in the public records in the office of the recorder in the recording district where the property is located.
Source: AS 13.48.050
Alaska is divided into recording districts rather than counties, and the statute’s own optional form tells the owner to record in every district the property touches, not just one. Missing the recording step before death is fatal to the deed under this section, and a class-only beneficiary designation is void outright.
Revocable no matter what the paperwork says
A transfer on death deed is revocable even if the deed or another instrument contains a contrary provision.
Source: AS 13.48.020
An owner cannot lock the deed in place by writing that it is irrevocable, and a beneficiary cannot rely on a promise that it will not be changed. The statute overrides the document.
If the beneficiary dies first, the gift lapses
the interest of a designated beneficiary is contingent on the designated beneficiary surviving the transferor; the interest of a designated beneficiary that fails to survive the transferor lapses.
Source: AS 13.48.090(a)(2)
There is no automatic substitution to a beneficiary’s own children. The same section lets an owner name one or more alternate beneficiaries in advance, which is the only way to prevent the property from falling back into the probate estate if the first choice dies before the owner.
Alaska recognizes this deed
LawDepot builds a Alaska transfer on death deed. Recording it before death, in the county where the property sits, is what makes it effective; the sections above name the state’s own requirements.
Create a transfer on death deed
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The deed carries every lien and mortgage with it
a beneficiary takes the property subject to all conveyances, encumbrances, assignments, contracts, mortgages, liens, and other interests to which the property is subject at the transferor’s death.
Source: AS 13.48.090(b)
A transfer on death deed does not pay off or clear anything. Whatever debt is attached to the house on the day the owner dies transfers along with the title.
What a transfer on death deed does not do
- Moves one parcel, not an estate. Bank accounts, vehicles and everything else are untouched, so it is not a substitute for a will.
- Does not take effect until death, so the owner keeps full control and can sell, mortgage or revoke without the beneficiary’s agreement or knowledge (AS 13.48.080).
- Does not clear debts. A mortgage, lien or judgment against the property passes with it.
- Does not decide what happens if the beneficiary dies first unless the owner named an alternate; otherwise the gift simply lapses.
Honest gaps
We read AS 13.48.010 through 13.48.130 in full directly from the Alaska Legislature’s own print endpoint this session, including the definitions, revocability, nontestamentary, capacity, void/challenge, requirements, notice, revocation mechanics, effect during life, effect at death, disclaimer, and the optional statutory forms for the deed and its revocation. We did not independently re-derive the creditor-claim apportionment math in 13.48.110(b) to (c) beyond quoting the surrounding text.
Source note. Read from https://www.akleg.gov/basis/statutes.asp?media=print&secStart=13.48.010&secEnd=13.48.200 on 2026-09-04.
Related: transfer on death deeds by state · how it compares with a living trust · what it actually avoids.
General information drawn from state statutes and official state or court forms, not legal advice. These instruments are governed by the law of the state where the property sits, and formalities differ from state to state; execution, witnessing and recording requirements are the parts that void a document when they are missed. Your own state’s current statute governs. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice.