Yes, trusts can avoid probate in Alaska. By creating and funding a trust, you transfer ownership of your assets to the trust, effectively bypassing the probate process when you pass away. A well-drafted trust can save time and money for your beneficiaries by avoiding the often lengthy and expensive probate process.
The cost of setting up a trust in Alaska varies depending on the complexity of the trust and the attorney's fees. A basic Revocable Living Trust generally ranges from $1,000 to $3,000. More complex trusts can cost several thousand dollars more. Online services like Snug can provide a more affordable alternative to traditional legal services, offering estate planning services, including trusts, at a lower cost.
A Revocable Living Trust is the most common type of trust people set up, offering flexibility and control over your assets during your lifetime and helping to avoid probate. Other types of trusts, such as Charitable Trusts, Special Needs Trusts, and Irrevocable Trusts, may be appropriate depending on your specific circumstances and goals.
Funding a trust in Alaska involves transferring ownership of your assets to the trust. For real estate, a new deed must be prepared with the trust as the owner. Bank accounts should be retitled in the name of the trust, and other assets like vehicles, personal property, stocks, and bonds must also be formally transferred to the trust.
In Alaska, any individual who is at least 18 years old and mentally competent can serve as a trustee. Furthermore, corporations, such as banks or trust companies, can serve as a trustee if they are authorized to exercise trust powers in the state. Trustees need to be capable of managing and maintaining property, and they cannot have been found guilty of serious crimes, including felonies or crimes that involve dishonest or immoral behavior.
In Alaska, to modify your living trust, you need to create an amendment to the original trust document. Clearly articulate the changes you wish to make in this amendment, such as altering beneficiaries, updating trustees, or changing distribution instructions. Be sure to include the date, your name, the name of the trust, and the date the trust was originally created. Similarly to the original trust document, your amendment should be signed in front of a notary public. If you need to make substantial changes to your living trust, it might be more efficient to create a restatement of the trust. A restatement allows you to rewrite the entirety of the trust, while preserving the original date and title of the trust, which can help avoid the need to retitle assets. In the restatement, you would incorporate all the changes you wish to make, and the new provisions will entirely replace the old ones.
