{"data":{"id":"us-ak/as-13.16.140","jurisdiction":"us-ak","citation":"AS 13.16.140","heading":"Formal testacy proceedings; nature; when commenced.","body":"(a) A formal testacy proceeding is litigation to determine whether a decedent left a valid will. A formal testacy proceeding may be commenced by an interested person filing a petition as described in AS 13.16.145(a) in which the person requests that the court, after notice and hearing, enter an order probating a will, or a petition to set aside an informal probate of a will or to prevent informal probate of a will that is the subject of a pending application, or a petition in accordance with AS 13.16.145(b) for an order that the decedent died intestate.\n(b) A petition may seek formal probate of a will without regard to whether the same or a conflicting will has been informally probated. A formal testacy proceeding may, but need not, involve a request for appointment of a personal representative.\n(c) During the pendency of a formal testacy proceeding, the registrar shall not act upon any application for informal probate of any will of the decedent or any application for informal appointment of a personal representative of the decedent.\n(d) Unless a petition in a formal testacy proceeding also requests confirmation of the previous informal appointment, a previously appointed personal representative, after receipt of notice of the commencement of a formal probate proceeding, must refrain from exercising the power to make any further distribution of the estate during the pendency of the formal proceeding. A petitioner who seeks the appointment of a different personal representative in a formal proceeding also may request an order restraining the acting personal representative from exercising any of the personal representative's powers of office and requesting the appointment of a special administrator. In the absence of a request, or if the request is denied, the commencement of a formal proceeding has no effect on the powers and duties of a previously appointed personal representative other than those relating to distribution.","path":["Title 13. Decedents' Estates, Guardianships, Transfers, Trusts, and Health Care Decisions.","Chapter 16. Probate of Wills and Administration.","Article 4. Formal Testacy and Appointment Proceedings."],"source_url":"https://www.akleg.gov/basis/statutes.asp#13.16.140","current_through":"Alaska Statutes 2025 (34th Legislature, 2025-2026)","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-02T06:16:54Z","sha256":"23fc2bc4001f297e4bf5ad07414e642b0e76e841ddc5a0bee79658e8b07161e9","source_id":"us-ak","stale":false,"prev":"us-ak/as-13.16.130","next":"us-ak/as-13.16.145"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}