Alaska Creditor Claims in Probate

Alaska gives creditors four months from the first date of publication of a Notice to Creditors. The Court System's own notice form, P-341, tells creditors to present their claims within four months after the first publication "or the claims will be forever barred," and it prints AS 13.16.450 in its footer. A creditor the personal representative knew about, or could reasonably have found, who never received the notice by mail or delivery, has three years from the date of death instead.

Every rule on this page was read on September 28, 2026 on the Alaska Court System's self-help probate pages, in its probate forms, and in the Alaska Probate Rules. The Legislature's statute site refuses our reader, so an Alaska Statutes section number appears here only where a Court System form or rule prints it, and the one statute this page quotes, AS 13.16.465, is the text the Court System reproduces on form P-310. Alaska hears probate in the superior court for the judicial district where the person lived at death, and the Alaska court directory lists the locations. This page explains how the rules work, not how they apply to one estate, so confirm your dates with the court holding the file or with a licensed Alaska attorney.

Publishing the Notice to Creditors

The personal representative publishes the notice once a week for three weeks in a row in a newspaper commonly read in the judicial district where the probate was filed. The Court System's Debts and Creditors page says to publish as soon as possible, because the probate cannot close until at least six months after the first date of publication. The estate may pay the newspaper's fee, and the receipt belongs in the later accounting.

Here is the paperwork. The notice itself is form P-341, Notice to Creditors (revision 9/18). After the three runs, the newspaper sends a document listing the dates the notice appeared, and the personal representative files form P-342, Affidavit of Publication (revision 7/14), which states that the notice ran once a week for three weeks in a row in a newspaper of general circulation in the judicial district.

Probate Rule 7(c) makes this part of the job the personal representative signs up for. Before letters issue, the personal representative files an acceptance that acknowledges the duty to "provide notice to creditors as required by law," publish notice when required, and "review and either accept or reject claims as required by AS 13.16.455 - 13.16.515."

Mailing the Notice to Creditors You Can Find

Publication reaches strangers. Known creditors need the notice in hand.

The Debts and Creditors page says the personal representative must mail or deliver the Notice to Creditors to every creditor the personal representative knows about or could reasonably find out about. Skip that step, and those creditors get three years from the date of death to bring their claims. The same page spells out what that costs. If such a creditor turns up after the estate has paid the others and handed out the property, the personal representative may have to pay the claim from personal funds, and the people who inherited may have to give property back.

The Court System lists the search it expects:

• go through the home, office, safe and file cabinets for checkbooks, bank and card statements, loan papers, cancelled checks, tax returns, contracts and judgments
• collect the mail and look for bills and financial papers
• review email, online accounts and the computer for financial information, where appropriate
• ask family members, advisors and business partners who might have lent money
• search court records for judgments or liens where the person lived or did business

Form P-341 carries the same warning in its instructions: actual notice, as opposed to a newspaper notice, may be required for a reasonably known creditor's claim.

How Long Each Kind of Claim Has

The four months cover most debts, and the Debts and Creditors page sorts the rest by type.

1. Debts from before or at the death, such as credit cards and medical bills: four months from the first date of publication.
2. A secured creditor's claim for the balance left on a debt, such as a car loan: the same four months.
3. A secured creditor enforcing its lien, such as repossessing a vehicle: whatever the contract with the person who died says. No claim is needed for that.
4. Contract claims for services the personal representative bought, such as an appraisal or cleaning: four months after the personal representative failed to pay.
5. Other claims that arise after the death, such as a tree from estate land damaging a neighbor's property: four months after the claim arises.
6. Creditors the personal representative knew about or could reasonably have found, when they were not sent the notice or no notice was published: no longer than three years from the date of death.

The page adds that other time periods may apply in special situations. Form P-310 points readers to AS 13.16.455 and 13.16.460 for the claim deadlines, and those two sections are not reproduced by the Court System, so this page states the deadlines as the Court System's Debts and Creditors page does.

How a Creditor Presents a Claim

A creditor writes up a claim, usually titled "Claim Against Estate." The Court System publishes one, form P-310 (revision 3/00), and the Debts and Creditors page lists what the claim must show:

• the creditor's name and address
• the amount of the claim
• what the claim is for
• when it will be due, if it is not due yet
• the property that secures it, if it is secured
• anything uncertain about the claim, explained

Page 2 of form P-310 reprints AS 13.16.465, "Manner of presentation of claims." It gives the creditor three routes:

• Written claim to the personal representative. Deliver or mail it. The claim counts as presented when the personal representative receives it or when it is filed with the court, whichever happens first.
• Written claim filed with the court. Alaska Probate Rule 10(a) says claims are filed with the probate registrar or clerk of the court handling the estate, or delivered or mailed to the personal representative.
• A lawsuit against the personal representative, in any court with jurisdiction over the personal representative. The suit has to start within the time allowed for presenting the claim. No separate claim is needed for matters already being sued on against the person who died when the death happened.

The same section forgives honest mistakes. Failing to describe the security, the uncertainty or the due date correctly does not undo the presentation.

A secured creditor has one more choice. Under Probate Rule 10(b), a secured creditor who wants to surrender the security must tell the personal representative in writing on or before the last day a claim can be filed. The Debts and Creditors page adds that a secured creditor claiming the full loan balance has to file within the four months and follow other special rules.

The Sixty-Day Decision

The personal representative can pay or reject claims as they come in, or wait until the four months end. Before deciding, the Court System suggests checking Courtview, the court's case search, to confirm the estate has a copy of every claim filed with the court.

Next steps are set by the calendar. At the end of the four months, the personal representative has 60 more days to decide each claim. Do nothing, and the claim is allowed when the 60 days end. The Debts and Creditors page calls that the same as agreeing with the claim.

To reject a claim, the personal representative sends the claimant a Notice of Disallowance and files it with the court, any time after the claim arrives and no later than 60 days after the four-month period ends. The Court System's form for this is P-345, Notice of Allowance or Disallowance of Claim (revision 7/14), which prints AS 13.16.475 in its footer and carries a certificate of service.

After a Disallowance

The claimant then has 60 days from the date the notice was mailed to petition the court to allow the claim or to file a court proceeding against the personal representative. Form P-345 puts the warning in plain words: failing to do so "will result in your claim being barred forever." If the claimant acts, the court sets a hearing, and both sides can file documents and call witnesses.

AS 13.16.465(3), as reproduced on form P-310, adds one exception. For a claim that is not yet due, or is contingent or unliquidated, the personal representative may agree to extend the 60 days, or the court may order an extension on petition to avoid injustice. No extension can run past the statute of limitations that applies to the claim.

Interest, Setoffs and Paying Early

An allowed claim can carry interest. The Debts and Creditors page lists three rates: a contract claim earns the contract rate, a judgment against the personal representative earns the judgment rate, and every other claim earns the legal rate beginning 60 days after the four-month period ends.

Three more practical rules come from the same page:

• Setoff. When a creditor also owes the estate money, the personal representative can subtract that debt and pay the difference.
• Paying out of order. Allowed only when the personal representative is sure the estate can pay everyone. Paying probate expenses as they come due is common, and a valid debt can be paid even without a filed claim.
• Paying off liens. The personal representative may pay off a mortgage or car loan when that serves the estate, but unless the will says otherwise, the payoff does not enlarge the share of whoever inherits that property.

When the Estate Cannot Pay Everyone

Family protections come first. The personal representative pays the homestead allowance and the family allowance, and sets aside exempt property, before any creditor claim. The Debts and Creditors page lists the homestead allowance at $27,000, the family allowance at up to $18,000 (more in some cases), and exempt property at $10,000, together up to $55,000 or more in some cases. The allowances come first even when a will disinherits the spouse or children.

Allowed claims then queue by class: the secured claim (as to the security only), probate expenses, funeral expenses, debts and taxes with priority under federal law and past-due child support, last-illness medical and hospital expenses, debts and taxes with priority under state law, and then every other claim. A class that cannot be paid in full is paid by the same percentage, and lower classes get nothing. See which allowed claims are paid first for the full chart. The Court System's advice for an estate that may be short is to wait until the four months end before paying anyone, and to hold off distributions until the claims are settled.

Property That Passed Outside Probate

Two kinds of nonprobate property stay within a creditor's reach for one year.

• Joint and payable-on-death accounts. If the estate cannot pay all claims, the Debts and Creditors page lets the personal representative collect money that passed by survivorship or to a payable-on-death beneficiary at a bank, credit union or other financial company. The creditor has to ask in writing, and the personal representative has to file a court proceeding against the recipient within one year after the death. Recipients give back only the decedent's share, up to the amount the claims need.
• Transfer on death deeds. The Court System's Transfer on Death Deed page says creditors have one year after the owner's death to make a claim against real property transferred by a TOD deed. Buyers, lenders and title insurers often wait out that year, and some title companies ask the new owner to open a probate just to notify creditors. Read more about the one-year TOD deed creditor window.

The state can also be a creditor. Alaska's Medicaid State Plan limits the Medicaid estate recovery claim to the probate estate, and a claim the department files in the probate case counts as notice to every heir.

Routes That Publish No Notice

Two Alaska routes finish without a Notice to Creditors.

The summary closing for a small estate starts as an informal probate. The Court System's Small Estates page says that when the inventory shows the estate, less liens and debts, is no larger than the homestead allowance, family allowance, exempt property, probate costs, funeral costs and last-illness medical costs combined, the personal representative "doesn't need to give Notice to Creditors or pay creditor claims," can transfer the property right away, and closes with form P-350. The personal representative's powers continue for one year after that closing statement is filed.

The Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property skips the court case entirely and publishes nothing. Form P-110 reproduces AS 13.16.685, which says anyone who receives property under the affidavit "is answerable and accountable for it to any personal representative of the estate or to any other person having a superior right." The Court System also says a creditor cannot use the affidavit to collect. Read more about the Alaska collection affidavit.

What a Creditor Can Do to Get Paid

The Debts and Creditors page includes a checklist written for creditors. It describes these steps:

1. Filing a Demand for Notice, form P-305, in the judicial district where the person lived at death. That form reproduces AS 13.16.070, which requires notice to the demandant before any order or filing the demand covers.
2. For a secured creditor, choosing between relying on the collateral and claiming the loan balance.
3. Watching the newspapers commonly read in that judicial district for a Notice to Creditors.
4. Mailing the claim to the personal representative and filing it with the court before the four months end, rather than relying on invoices sent to the decedent's old address.
5. With no notice received, filing promptly after learning of the probate, provided it has been less than three years since the death and the normal filing time under Alaska law has not ended.
6. Requesting payment if 60 days pass after the four months with no answer, because the claim is then allowed.
7. After a disallowance, the 60-day window from the mailing date to petition the court or file a proceeding.

After Distribution and Closing

A personal representative who hands property out too early can ask for it back. The Court System's Distribution of Estate Assets page lets the personal representative recover improperly distributed property within three years after the death or one year after the distribution, whichever is later, along with any income it earned. A good-faith buyer who bought from a distributee holding title or a Deed of Distribution keeps the property, and the distributee owes its value instead.

The claim period also sets a floor on how long the estate stays open. No closing can happen until six months after the first publication, and the personal representative may hold back a reasonable amount for final costs such as accounting fees or a last tax bill. See how the creditor bar sets the timeline and closing the estate.

When to Bring In an Alaska Attorney

These steps run without a hearing in an uncontested estate. How they apply to one estate is a question for a licensed Alaska probate attorney, and the Court System itself suggests a lawyer at these points:

• the claims on file look larger than the estate, so the class order decides who gets paid
• a creditor asks the estate to collect a joint or payable-on-death account
• a secured creditor claims the full loan balance
• a claim may fall under one of the special time periods the Debts and Creditors page mentions

For the rest of the job, see the personal representative's other duties and the Alaska probate guide.

Related Guides

• Alaska Executor Duties
• Alaska Debt Payment Priority
• Alaska Probate Timeline
• Alaska Transfer on Death Deed
• Alaska Small Estate Affidavit

Sources:

• Title: Debts and Creditors. Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://courts.alaska.gov/shc/probate/debt.htm
• Title: Transfer on Death Deed. Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://courts.alaska.gov/shc/probate/tod-deed.htm
• Title: Small Estates. Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://courts.alaska.gov/shc/probate/small-estates.htm
• Title: Background Information about Probate. Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://courts.alaska.gov/shc/probate/background.htm
• Title: Distribution of Estate Assets. Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://courts.alaska.gov/shc/probate/distribution.htm
• Title: Collecting Personal Property without a Court Case. Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://courts.alaska.gov/shc/probate/affidavit.htm
• Title: Form P-341, Notice to Creditors (AS 13.16.450). Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: Form revision 9/18. URL: https://public.courts.alaska.gov/web/forms/docs/p-341.pdf
• Title: Form P-342, Affidavit of Publication (AS 13.16.450). Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: Form revision 7/14. URL: https://public.courts.alaska.gov/web/forms/docs/p-342.pdf
• Title: Form P-310, Claim Against Estate (reproduces AS 13.16.465 and Probate Rule 10). Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: Form revision 3/00. URL: https://public.courts.alaska.gov/web/forms/docs/p-310.pdf
• Title: Form P-345, Notice of Allowance or Disallowance of Claim (AS 13.16.475). Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: Form revision 7/14. URL: https://public.courts.alaska.gov/web/forms/docs/p-345.pdf
• Title: Form P-305, Demand for Notice (reproduces AS 13.16.070). Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: Form revision 9/96. URL: https://public.courts.alaska.gov/web/forms/docs/p-305.pdf
• Title: Form P-110, Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of Decedent (reproduces AS 13.16.685). Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: Form revision 4/17. URL: https://public.courts.alaska.gov/web/forms/docs/p-110.pdf
• Title: Alaska Rules of Court, Probate Rules 7 and 10. Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://courts.alaska.gov/rules/docs/prob.pdf

It is not legal advice.