Alaska Probate Accounting and Closing

Alaska probate accounting is one document with three possible endings. The Alaska Court System says the personal representative must prepare an accounting before closing a probate, showing every item of property gathered into the estate and every payment and transfer out of it. The Court System's form for it is P-380, Final Accounting and Proposed Distribution. The people it affects can waive it in writing, usually on the P-385 Receipt and Release.

Where the accounting goes depends on how you close. In an informal estate closed by sworn statement on P-355, you send it to the people affected and swear that you did. In a formal closing on P-360, you file it with the Superior Court before a hearing. A small estate closed on P-350 still owes an accounting or waivers, even though it skips notice to creditors.

Here is how we sourced this page. The Alaska Statutes are published at akleg.gov, and that host answers our research agent with an HTTP 403 reading "Please contact the site owner for access." We did not read the statutes there or through any copy of them. Every rule below comes from the Alaska Court System itself, read on September 28, 2026: its self-help pages on accounting, distribution, small estates and closing, its probate forms, and the Alaska Probate Rules. An Alaska Statutes section number appears here only where a Court System form or rule prints it.

Every Alaska estate is heard in the Superior Court, in the judicial district where the person lived. Find the Superior Court location for your judicial district before you file anything, and read this page beside the personal representative's duties and when an estate can close. This page describes Alaska's rules rather than the facts of one estate.

Step	What Alaska requires	Source
Inventory	Within three months of appointment, at date-of-death fair market value	Form P-370 (AS 13.16.365); Small Estates page
Accounting	Prepared before closing, tracking all property, income, expenses and distributions	Accounting Requirements page
Format	None required unless the court orders one; P-380 is the Court System form	Probate Rule 12(b); form P-380
Waiver	Each affected interested person may waive in writing, often on P-385	Accounting Requirements page; form P-385
Proposal for Distribution	Optional; 30 days to object after mailing or delivery	Distribution page; P-380 Part F
Informal closing	Sworn statement on P-355, at least six months after first publication	Form P-355 (AS 13.16.630)
Formal closing	Request on P-360 with P-380 attached, then a hearing	Form P-360 (AS 13.16.620, .625); Probate Rule 12(c)
Small-estate closing	Sworn statement on P-350, accounting or waivers still owed	Form P-350 (AS 13.16.690, .695); Small Estates page
End of the appointment	One year after a sworn statement if nothing is pending; at once on formal approval	P-355; P-350; Personal Representative FAQ

What an Alaska Accounting Has to Show

The Court System defines an accounting as "a record of all property that the Personal Representative gathers into the estate and pays out of the estate." It should identify the type and value of each item you collected, and the date, amount and purpose of everything you paid or transferred out. It should also say what property, if any, is still in the estate.

Probate Rule 12(b) sets the legal floor for a final account in a formal closing. Unless the court orders more detail, the account must give interested persons enough information to put them on notice of every material cash and property transaction since the last accounting, or since administration began if there was none. The same subsection says that unless the court orders otherwise, "no specific format is required for a final account."

So the test is notice, not a template. An heir reading your account should be able to see what came in, what went out and why, and what is left.

The Court System suggests organizing the accounting in three groups:

Property taken into the estate. The inventoried assets, which should match your inventory, then real property, financial accounts and cash, and tangible personal property at their total values, plus receipts such as interest, dividends and rent.
Property paid out of the estate. Allowances and exempt property, creditor claims and estate expenses, listed payment by payment with the creditor, date, amount and purpose, and then distributions to beneficiaries or heirs, listed by type, value, date and description.
Property remaining in the estate. A description of anything still held.

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Records to Keep From the Day You Are Appointed

The accounting is only as good as the records behind it. The Court System's advice is to open an estate bank account as one of your first steps, deposit every dollar you collect into it, and pay probate costs, allowances, creditor claims and distributions only from it. When the time comes, the check register or bank statements are your starting point.

It also tells you to keep careful records of:

Every item of property the person owned and its value, which feeds both the inventory and the accounting.
All income estate property earned after the death, such as bank interest, dividends, rent, or interest on a loan owed to the estate.
Every payment or transfer out of the estate, with its date, amount or value, the recipient and the purpose.
Every invoice and receipt for goods and services.

Keep a time log too if you plan to take a fee. The Court System's personal representative FAQ says to record the date, time spent and a description of what you did each day, because that record helps the court and the heirs judge whether your fee is reasonable.

The Inventory Comes First

Your inventory is the opening balance of the accounting. Form P-370, Inventory of Property (revision 7/14), which cites AS 13.16.365, says the personal representative must prepare and file it within three months of appointment. It lists each item the person owned on the date of death, its fair market value on that date, any encumbrance with the amount and who is owed it, and the net value. The form's service note says notice of the inventory must go to all interested persons who request it, and that the inventory should also be filed with the court.

P-370 also has you acknowledge that you must file a supplementary inventory if you find property you left out, or learn that a value or description was wrong or misleading. The Court System says the "inventoried assets" line of the accounting should match the inventory, so a supplement you skip becomes a gap in your account.

Form P-380, Part by Part

The Court System's Accounting Requirements page names one form: P-380, Final Accounting and Proposed Distribution (revision 7/14). Its footer cites AS 13.16.620, AS 13.16.625 and Probate Rule 12. It runs three pages in six parts.

Part	What you enter
A. Assets	Real estate, personal property, and financial accounts and cash, each with fair market value on the date of death, the type and value of any encumbrance, and net value; the appraiser's name and address if appraised
B. Debts	Homestead allowance, family allowance and exempt property; creditor claims by creditor; probate costs, funeral expenses, federal debts and taxes, state debts and taxes, medical expenses of the last illness, and other costs, with documentation attached for all expenses
C. Value of estate	Total net assets minus total debts, which may be a negative number
D. Proposed distribution	Each recipient's name and address, the property, and its value
E. Property remaining	The value held back and how you plan to manage it
F. Notice to interested persons	The 30-day objection window, your signature, and a certificate of service

Two lines on the form carry real weight.

Part C may come out negative. If it does, Part D tells you to distribute in the order set out in AS 13.16.470 and points to the Court System's debt page. The Accounting Requirements page makes the same point from the other side: when the money will not cover everything, sort every payment on the accounting by priority so the court and the heirs can see you paid in the right order. That order starts with the homestead allowance, the family allowance and exempt property, then secured claims, probate costs, funeral costs, debts and taxes with priority under federal law and past-due child support, medical costs of the last illness, debts and taxes with priority under state law, and all other claims. See which debts get paid first for the full chart and confirming the creditor period has run before you pay anything that depends on it.

The certificate of service tells you who gets a copy. It says the document "must be given to all people with a right to object to the proposed distribution," which normally means everyone named in the will, everyone entitled to inherit if there is no will, and creditors.

The Proposal for Distribution and the 30-Day Window

P-380 doubles as the Court System's Proposal for Distribution. The Distribution of Estate Assets page says a proposal should name each person who will receive property, the property, its value, and the 30-day deadline to object.

Each person has 30 days from the date of mailing, or the date of hand delivery, to object to the kind or value of the property they will receive. The Court System says that if a person does not object in that time, "they cannot object later." Part F of P-380 adds that the objection must be in writing and received by the personal representative within the 30 days. Mail it by first-class mail or deliver it by hand to everyone named in it and any other interested person it might affect.

Sending a proposal is optional. The Court System suggests it where the probate has been contested or where there has been little communication between you and the beneficiaries or heirs.

Waiving the Accounting With a Receipt and Release

The Court System says the personal representative does not need to prepare an accounting if each interested person who is affected by it signs a statement waiving the right to one. It notes that an accounting can be expensive and slow to prepare, and that when a small number of people trust the personal representative, they often waive it to save money and close the probate faster.

The usual place for that waiver is form P-385, Receipt and Release of Property (revision 7/14). The person signing:

States their role: a person named in the will, a person entitled to inherit if there is no will, a creditor who made a claim, or other.
Lists the property they received and accepted.
Says whether it fully or partially satisfies their interest.
Agrees that the inventory is correct.
Either checks "I waive my right to an accounting" or checks that they reviewed the accounting and agree it is correct.
Releases the personal representative from liability relating to their interest.

They sign under oath or affirmation and return it to you by mail or personal delivery. The Distribution page says to file all original Receipts and Releases with the court when you close. One person's waiver covers only that person, so anyone affected who has not signed still needs the accounting.

Holding Money Back for Final Costs

You can keep a reasonable reserve after distributing the estate. The Court System says you may hold back enough to cover final costs such as accounting fees, lawyer fees or a final tax bill, whether you close formally or informally. Part E of P-380 asks for the value held back and your plan to manage it.

With a sworn statement, include the amount, its purpose and your plan to distribute what remains, and consider having the affected persons agree to that plan in their Receipt and Release. In a formal closing, ask the court to approve the amount, the purpose and the plan.

Closing an Informal Estate by Sworn Statement (P-355)

The Court System calls the sworn statement "the most common way to close an informal probate." The form is P-355, Sworn Statement of Personal Representative to Close Informal Estate (revision 7/22), and its footer cites AS 13.16.630. You swear that:

The first publication of the Notice to Creditors occurred more than six months ago.
You paid, settled or disposed of all claims presented, paid administration expenses, and paid inheritance and other death taxes.
You distributed the assets to the persons entitled.
You sent a copy of the statement to everyone who received estate property and to all interested persons whose claims were unpaid.
You sent an accounting to all persons whose interests are affected, or you are filing their waivers with the statement.

Paragraph 4 asks whether any claims remain. If they do, the form says they "must be paid within one year of filing this statement," and you explain the arrangement and attach any signed agreements.

The Accounting Requirements page sets the order: send the accounting to everyone who received distributions and is affected by it before you file the statement. You sign the verification before a notary or a court clerk, attach the Order Closing Estate (form P-301) with only its caption filled in, and file.

Your appointment does not end on filing. P-355 says it ends one year later as long as no action or proceeding involving you as personal representative is pending, and you remain the personal representative until then. The six-month floor is a creditor-notice fact, so see the Alaska probate timeline for how it sets the earliest closing date.

Closing Formally With Court Approval (P-360)

A formal closing puts your accounting in front of a judge. The form is P-360, Request to Close Formal Estate and Approve Distribution (revision 8/15), which cites AS 13.16.620 and AS 13.16.625. The Court System says you can file it even if you did not open a formal probate.

On P-360 you state that the person died more than one year ago, that you filed or served an inventory, that you published notice to creditors and filed an affidavit of publication, that the claim period has expired and presented claims are paid or settled, and that you filed a final accounting. The proposed distribution goes on P-380, attached to the request.

Probate Rule 12(c) lists what a formal closing petition must state:

That you fully administered the estate.
That all presented claims are paid, settled, provided for or otherwise disposed of.
That you paid or provided for taxes and administration expenses.
The amount of compensation paid or to be paid to the personal representative, attorneys, accountants, appraisers and other agents.
That objections must be presented at or before the hearing.

The rule also requires a plan of distribution with a statement of all prior distributions, the assets still in your hands, and a schedule of the proposed distribution of what remains.

The court sets a hearing, and you must notify all interested persons. The Accounting Requirements page says to file the accounting with the court before the final hearing and send a copy to every interested person it affects. At the hearing the court reviews the inventory, the accounting and the proposed distribution and hears any concerns. If it approves, the Court System says it closes the probate and ends your appointment immediately.

Fees Reported in the Account

Probate Rule 12(c) makes compensation a line item in a formal closing, so be ready to state and support it. The Court System's personal representative FAQ says a personal representative may be paid a "reasonable" fee and reimbursed for reasonable expenses, judged by the factors in Probate Rule 7.1. Those factors include the time and work involved, how difficult the probate was, any special skill required, and the fees of agents you hired. Alaska sets no percentage schedule. If the will sets a fee, the FAQ says you must choose that fee or a reasonable fee before you are appointed. The rule itself is set out under personal representative compensation in Alaska.

A Small Estate Still Owes an Accounting (P-350)

Alaska's summary closing skips creditor notice, not the accounting. The Court System's Small Estates page says a small estate starts as an informal probate. After the inventory, if the estate's value less liens and debts is no more than the homestead allowance, family allowance, exempt property, probate costs, funeral costs and last-illness medical costs combined, you may transfer property at once without notice to creditors. The same page says you must still take every other probate step, "including preparing an Accounting or asking for waivers of the Accounting."

The closing form is P-350, Sworn Statement of Personal Representative Closing Small Estate (revision 7/22), which cites AS 13.16.690 and AS 13.16.695. On it you swear that you distributed the assets, sent a copy of the statement to everyone who received property and to interested persons with unpaid claims, and sent an accounting to all persons who received estate property or whose interests are affected, filing any waivers with it. Your powers continue for one year after filing. See the P-350 summary closing for the value test in full and the separate no-court affidavit route.

After the Estate Closes

Two Court System statements matter once the paperwork is filed.

First, the Distribution page says the personal representative can recover property that was improperly distributed if it has been less than three years since the death or one year since the distribution, whichever is later. The person who received it must return the property and any income it earned, or its value if they no longer have it.

Second, an estate that simply stalls is not closed. Probate Rule 12(d) lets the clerk send a notice when no action has been taken in an estate for more than one year, and close the file 30 days later if nobody objects. The rule says administrative closure "does not discharge the personal representative or terminate the personal representative's powers and duties." Only a sworn statement or a formal closing ends the job.

What This Page Does Not State

Some closing rules appear only in the text of the Alaska Statutes, which we could not read, and no Court System page or form we read states them. We leave them out rather than borrow another state's version:

Any deadline for an heir or creditor to sue the personal representative after a sworn statement is filed.
The statute's own wording of the accounting duty, beyond what forms P-350, P-355, P-360 and P-380 recite.

If an estate's closing turns on either point, ask the Superior Court location holding the file or a licensed Alaska attorney.

When to Bring In an Alaska Attorney

The Court System says a personal representative can usually prepare the accounting without help unless it is complicated, and that you can hire a bookkeeping or accounting service and weigh the cost against the size of the job. Consider a probate attorney when an heir objects to the proposed distribution, when the estate cannot pay every claim in full, when you need court approval of a fee or a reserve, or when an heir will not sign a Receipt and Release.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does an Alaska personal representative have to prepare an accounting?

Yes, unless everyone affected waives it. The Alaska Court System's Accounting Requirements page says the personal representative must prepare an accounting before closing a probate. It is a record of all property gathered into the estate and paid out of it, detailed enough to show the type and value of what came in and the date, amount and purpose of everything paid or transferred out, plus anything left over.

Is there an Alaska court form for the probate accounting?

Yes. The Court System publishes form P-380, Final Accounting and Proposed Distribution (revision 7/14). It has six parts: assets, debts, the net value of the estate, the proposed distribution, property remaining in the estate, and a notice giving interested persons 30 days to object. Probate Rule 12(b) says that unless the court orders otherwise, no specific format is required for a final account, so P-380 is the Court System's version rather than the only acceptable one.

Can Alaska heirs waive the accounting?

Yes. The Court System says the personal representative does not need to prepare an accounting if each interested person affected by it signs a statement waiving the right to one. That can be done on the Receipt and Release, form P-385, which has a box reading "I waive my right to an accounting." The personal representative files the signed waivers with the closing papers.

Do you file the accounting with the court in an Alaska informal probate?

Not by itself. When you close with the sworn statement on form P-355, you send the accounting to everyone who received distributions and is affected by it before you file the statement, and you check a box on P-355 swearing that you did. You file any signed waivers with the statement. In a formal closing on form P-360, you file the accounting with the court before the final hearing and send a copy to the interested persons it affects.

When can an Alaska estate be closed by sworn statement?

Form P-355 has the personal representative swear that the first publication of the Notice to Creditors occurred more than six months ago, that claims, expenses and taxes are paid or settled, that the assets are distributed, and that an accounting went to everyone affected or they waived it. The form cites AS 13.16.630. Any claims still outstanding must be paid within one year of filing, and the appointment ends one year after filing if no proceeding involving the personal representative is pending.

How long do Alaska heirs have to object to a proposed distribution?

Thirty days. The Court System's Distribution of Estate Assets page says a person has 30 days from the date the Proposal for Distribution was mailed, or the date it was hand-delivered, to object to the kind or value of the property they will receive, and cannot object later if they miss that window. Part F of form P-380 repeats the 30 days and says the objection must be in writing and received by the personal representative. Sending a proposal is optional.

Can an Alaska personal representative hold money back after distributing the estate?

Yes. The Court System says you can hold back a reasonable amount to cover final costs such as accounting fees, lawyer fees or a final tax bill, in a formal or an informal closing. Part E of form P-380 asks for the value held back and how you will manage it. With a sworn statement, the Court System suggests having the affected persons agree to the plan in their Receipt and Release; in a formal closing, you ask the court to approve it.

This page describes Alaska's accounting and closing rules rather than advising on one estate. Confirm every form and deadline with the Superior Court location in the judicial district holding the file, or with a licensed Alaska attorney, before you act on it.

Sources:

Title: Accounting Requirements. Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: Not listed; accessed 2026-09-28. URL: https://courts.alaska.gov/shc/probate/accounting.htm
Title: Form P-380, Final Accounting and Proposed Distribution (AS 13.16.620, AS 13.16.625, Probate Rule 12). Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: Form revision 7/14; accessed 2026-09-28. URL: https://public.courts.alaska.gov/web/forms/docs/p-380.pdf
Title: Form P-385, Receipt and Release of Property. Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: Form revision 7/14; accessed 2026-09-28. URL: https://public.courts.alaska.gov/web/forms/docs/p-385.pdf
Title: Form P-355, Sworn Statement of Personal Representative to Close Informal Estate (AS 13.16.630). Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: Form revision 7/22; accessed 2026-09-28. URL: https://public.courts.alaska.gov/web/forms/docs/p-355.pdf
Title: Form P-360, Request to Close Formal Estate and Approve Distribution (AS 13.16.620, AS 13.16.625). Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: Form revision 8/15; accessed 2026-09-28. URL: https://public.courts.alaska.gov/web/forms/docs/p-360.pdf
Title: Form P-350, Sworn Statement of Personal Representative Closing Small Estate (AS 13.16.690, AS 13.16.695). Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: Form revision 7/22; accessed 2026-09-28. URL: https://public.courts.alaska.gov/web/forms/docs/p-350.pdf
Title: Form P-370, Inventory of Property (AS 13.16.365). Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: Form revision 7/14; accessed 2026-09-28. URL: https://public.courts.alaska.gov/web/forms/docs/p-370.pdf
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: 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: Personal Representative Duties and Responsibilities FAQ (part 3). Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: Not listed; accessed 2026-09-28. URL: https://courts.alaska.gov/shc/probate/personal-rep-faq3.htm
Title: Alaska Rules of Court, Probate Rules (Rule 7.1, Compensation; Rule 12, Closing Estates). Publisher: Alaska Court System. Publication Date: Rule 12 as amended by SCO 1743, effective April 15, 2011; accessed 2026-09-28. URL: https://courts.alaska.gov/rules/docs/prob.pdf

It is not legal advice.