Alaska Exempt Property | Settled Estate

Alaska exempt property is up to $10,000 of personal property that the personal representative of an Alaska estate must set aside for the family before creditors are paid. It goes to the surviving spouse. With no spouse, it is divided between all of the children of the person who died, minors and adults alike. Liens and debts against the property do not count toward the $10,000, and the property passes free from creditor claims against the estate.

The spouse, or the children, choose it from five kinds of property: household furniture, automobiles, furnishings, appliances and personal effects. Exempt property is one of three family protections in Alaska probate. The other two are the $27,000 homestead allowance and the family allowance of up to $18,000.

Here is how we sourced this page. The Alaska Statutes are published only by the Alaska Legislature, whose website refused our research tool access on September 28, 2026. So every rule below comes from the Alaska Court System, the court that applies these statutes, as its self-help pages, forms and court rules stated them on that date. The Alaska Rules of Probate Procedure name the statutes behind the allowances as AS 13.12.401 through 13.12.405. We did not read those sections, and we give no narrower section number than the rule does.

The Three Family Protections

The Court System calls these "special payments that the Personal Representative makes to family members of the person who died from estate property." Its Debts and Creditors page sets them out in one chart.

Protection	Amount	Who receives it
Homestead allowance	$27,000	The surviving spouse; if none, divided between the minor and dependent children
Family allowance	Up to $18,000 in one payment, or up to $1,500 a month for up to one year	The surviving spouse and the minor children the person had to support and was supporting
Exempt property	Up to $10,000 of personal property	The surviving spouse; if none, divided between all of the children

Together they "can total up to $55,000 (or more in some cases)," in the Court System's words. The family allowance is the figure that can grow: the Court System says the court can be asked to raise its limits. The family allowance guide covers that payment in full.

These payments sit on top of each family member's share of the estate. The Court System says they are "in addition to any shares that the family members receive from the estate (unless the Will says something differently)."

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Who Receives Exempt Property

The surviving spouse comes first. If the person who died left no spouse, the property is divided between all of the children, "whether minors or adults."

That rule reaches further than the homestead allowance. With no spouse, the homestead allowance goes only to minor and dependent children. Exempt property goes to every child, so a grown, self-supporting son or daughter shares in it.

Who counts as a child matters here. The Court System's glossary defines a child as a son or daughter related by blood or adoption. A stepchild does not qualify, and neither does a child the family took in without adopting.

What Property Qualifies

Exempt property is personal property only. The glossary lists the five kinds the spouse or children can choose from:

household furniture
automobiles
furnishings
appliances
personal effects

A house or land is not on the list. The homestead allowance is a separate $27,000 payment and is not tied to the family home.

One limit applies to the choice. The family cannot pick an item the will leaves by name to someone else, "unless the estate does not have enough exempt property." So if the will leaves the pickup to a nephew, the spouse chooses from the furniture, appliances and other items first.

How Liens And Loans Are Counted

The glossary says "liens and debts against the property do not count toward the total value." Let's break that down with a vehicle. A pickup worth $14,000 with $8,000 still owed on its loan carries $6,000 of value to the family, so it uses $6,000 of the $10,000, not $14,000.

The estate's other debts are a different question. Those are creditor claims, and exempt property is set aside before creditor claims are paid.

Where Exempt Property Ranks Against Debts

The Court System's Distribution of Estate Assets page states the order. The personal representative must pay the homestead allowance, the family allowance and exempt property "before all other claims, including creditor claims, debts, taxes and costs of probate."

When the estate cannot cover all three, the order is fixed:

The homestead allowance first.
The family allowance second.
Exempt property next.

Creditor claims follow. Only after those are paid does anything pass to the people named in the will or, with no will, the heirs. The glossary adds that exempt property "passes free from creditor claims against the estate." For the full list of claim classes, see the Alaska order of payment.

A personal representative who is sure the estate can cover the allowances, exempt property and creditor claims can transfer property at any time. If not, the Court System's advice is to wait until those are paid.

A Will Cannot Take It Away

The Court System is direct on this. "Even if the person who died made a will that disinherited the spouse or children, the Personal Representative needs to pay the allowances and exempt property out of the estate."

A spouse who claims the elective share against the will keeps these protections too. The Court System says the surviving spouse receives the homestead allowance, family allowance and exempt property "in addition to the elective share." The elective share and the other rights a spouse holds are covered in Alaska surviving spouse rights.

The same rules apply when there is no will. The Court System's intestacy page lists paying the allowances and exempt property as one of the personal representative's tasks in every estate, before the heirs receive their shares under Alaska intestate succession.

Turning It Down

A spouse or child does not have to take exempt property. The Court System says the spouse and children "may disclaim their interest in receiving any allowances and exempt property, and would need to file a document with the court stating this." A family member might do this so the property passes under the will instead.

Exempt Property And The Small Estate Closing

The allowances also decide whether an estate can use Alaska's summary closing. This is an informal probate case, filed in the Superior Court, and closed with form P-350, the Sworn Statement of Personal Representative Closing Small Estate.

The personal representative swears that the whole estate, after subtracting liens and debts, is worth no more than the combined total of:

the homestead allowance
exempt property
the family allowance
costs and expenses of administration
reasonable funeral expenses
reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the last illness

If the estate fits, the Court System says the personal representative does not need to publish notice to creditors and can transfer the property right away. The form cites AS 13.16.690 and AS 13.16.695. Opening that case starts with the Alaska probate process.

What We Could Not Confirm From An Official Source

Four points are stated only in the Alaska Statutes, which the Alaska Legislature's website would not serve to our research tool on September 28, 2026. No Court System page or form we read states them, so this page does not either:

which single section within AS 13.12.401 through 13.12.405 sets the $10,000 figure
any deadline for claiming exempt property
whether the $10,000 figure is adjusted for inflation
whether a spouse or child must survive the person who died by a set number of hours to qualify

If one of these points decides your case, a probate lawyer can read the current statute for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is Alaska exempt property worth?

Up to $10,000. The Alaska Court System's glossary defines exempt property as personal property of the person who died, worth up to $10,000, that the personal representative must give to certain family members. Liens and debts against the property do not count toward that value.

Who gets Alaska exempt property?

The surviving spouse. If the person who died left no spouse, the Court System says the property is divided between all of the person's children, whether they are minors or adults. A stepchild is not a child for this purpose, because the glossary defines a child as a son or daughter by blood or adoption.

What property can be taken as exempt property in Alaska?

The spouse, or the children, choose from the household furniture, automobiles, furnishings, appliances and personal effects of the person who died. They cannot choose an item the will leaves by name to someone else, unless the estate does not have enough other exempt property.

Do creditors get paid before exempt property in Alaska?

No. The Court System says the homestead allowance, the family allowance and exempt property come before creditor claims, debts, taxes and the costs of probate, and that exempt property passes free from creditor claims against the estate. When the estate cannot cover all three protections, the homestead allowance is paid first, the family allowance second and exempt property next.

Can a will take away Alaska exempt property?

No. The Court System says the personal representative must pay the allowances and exempt property even when the will disinherits the spouse or the children. The payments also come on top of what the family members inherit, unless the will says otherwise. A spouse who takes the elective share still receives exempt property in addition.

Can a spouse or child turn down exempt property?

Yes. The Court System says the spouse and children may disclaim their interest in the allowances and exempt property, and to do that they file a document with the court saying so.

Is there a deadline to claim exempt property in Alaska?

We could not confirm one. No Court System page or form we read states a deadline, and the Alaska Statutes that would state it were not available to us, so this page gives none.

Sources:

Title: Glossary of Probate Terms. Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: Not listed (accessed 2026-09-28). URL: https://courts.alaska.gov/shc/probate/glossary.htm
Title: Distribution of Estate Assets. Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: Not listed (accessed 2026-09-28). URL: https://courts.alaska.gov/shc/probate/distribution.htm
Title: Debts and Creditors. Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: Not listed (accessed 2026-09-28). URL: https://courts.alaska.gov/shc/probate/debt.htm
Title: Small Estates. Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: Not listed (accessed 2026-09-28). URL: https://courts.alaska.gov/shc/probate/small-estates.htm
Title: Death Without a Will - Intestacy. Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: Not listed (accessed 2026-09-28). URL: https://courts.alaska.gov/shc/probate/intestacy.htm
Title: Wills: Overview, Validity, Holographic, Challenges. Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: Not listed (accessed 2026-09-28). URL: https://courts.alaska.gov/shc/probate/wills.htm
Title: Alaska Rules of Probate Procedure, Rule 7, Duties and Responsibilities of the Personal Representative (citing AS 13.12.401-13.12.405). Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: SCO 1014 effective January 15, 1990, as amended; accessed 2026-09-28. URL: https://courts.alaska.gov/rules/docs/prob.pdf
Title: Sworn Statement of Personal Representative Closing Small Estate, form P-350 (AS 13.16.690, AS 13.16.695). Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: Revised 7/22. URL: https://public.courts.alaska.gov/web/forms/docs/p-350.pdf

It is not legal advice.