Publication
Newspaper pricing is commercial rather than a statewide fee.
Alaska court costs
Alaska probate filing cost: $250
Alaska Administrative Rule 9 (statewide court Fee Schedule) sets a $250.00 fee upon filing a trust or estate action other than the registration or deposit of a will or trust document. Depositing a will for safekeeping is $50.00 and registering a trust document is $50.00. The fee is a single statewide figure set by Supreme Court order, not a county-variable amount.
$250 is the amount the statute states. Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.
What the statute charges
Every line below is computed from the statutory schedule quoted at the end of this page. These are court charges only. They are not an estimate of the total cost of settling an estate.
Filing a trust or estate action (probate)
| Charge | $25,000 estate | $100,000 estate | $400,000 estate | $1,000,000 estate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trust or estate action filing | $250 | $250 | $250 | $250 |
| Total from this schedule | $250 | $250 | $250 | $250 |
Not included in this total
- Publication, certified copies, bond, and letters/certificate fees
Depositing a will for safekeeping is a separate $50 charge; registering a trust document is $50.
Source: Alaska R. Admin. 9 (Fee Schedule), Alaska Court System (Alaska Rules of Court). Edition/currentness: Publisher edition or effective date not stated. Verified September 15, 2026.
What the $250 is made of
Alaska’s $250 figure is a single statutory charge, not a total assembled from parts. It is shown here with its own provision named, and with the neighbouring charges the Alaska schedule prices separately — the ones a filer is most likely to add to it by mistake, or to be quoted alongside it.
- $250Trust or estate action, Administrative Rule 9 fee schedule
Added together, these come to $250 — the figure this page headlines. If any component changed in the source, the sum would no longer match, and the build withholds the total rather than publishing a number whose parts no longer add up.
Charges the $250 figure leaves out
These amounts appear in or beside the same Alaska schedule, so a reader can easily mistake one for part of the fee. Each is held out of the figure above for the specific reason given, which is the difference between an honest total and an inflated one.
A fee for a different filing
- Appellate filing fees, Administrative Rule 9(a)(1)(A)-(D)
- the four $250 appellate filing fees (notice of appeal/cross-appeal, petition for review, original proceedings, and petition for hearing) are Supreme Court / Court of Appeals filings, different proceedings from the superior-court trust-or-estate action this product prices.
- General civil-case filing fee, Administrative Rule 9(b)(1)
- the $250 in (b)(1) is the fee for filing any civil case (including a petition for deposition before action), a different proceeding from the (b)(2)(A) trust-or-estate action.
- Preparation of case record for U.S. Supreme Court review, Administrative Rule 9(a)(2)(A)
- the $200 is a one-time clerk service fee to prepare a case record for review by the Supreme Court of the United States, a different service from the estate-action filing fee.
- Depositing a will for safekeeping, Administrative Rule 9(b)(2)(B)
- a different service, expressly carved out of the estate-action fee ("other than the registration or deposit of a will or trust document").
- Registration of a trust document, Administrative Rule 9(b)(2)(C)
- a different service (registering a trust document), also expressly carved out of the estate-action fee.
A per-copy or per-page charge
- Copies of court opinions, Administrative Rule 9(a)(2)(C)
- the $5.00 is charged per opinion copied, a per-unit copy charge rather than a filing fee.
Costs no statute prices
These are the costs executors most often meet after the filing fee. None of them has a statewide statutory amount, so this site does not estimate them.
Bond
Premiums depend on the bond amount, the estate, and the applicant.
Copies and local charges
Certified copies, recording, inventory, accounting, and county surcharges are billed separately.
Professional fees
Attorney, accountant, and appraiser fees are negotiated or court-reviewed.
State-specific limits
- AK small-estate cap is two additive parts ($100k vehicles + $50k other personalty); modeling only the $50,000 figure understates eligibility for vehicle-heavy estates.
- No publisher edition stamp on the AK statute print endpoint or the Rules PDF - manual session-law review remains required each cycle.
Use this as a starting point.
This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.
How to verify the amount for this case
Name the proceeding before asking for a total. A small-estate affidavit, an application for letters, formal administration, a later inventory or account, and a certified copy can each carry a different charge. Asking only “what does probate cost?” invites an answer for the wrong filing.
- Identify the county where the proceeding will be filed.
- Identify the exact route or petition you expect to use.
- State the value basis the schedule uses; it is not always the gross estate value.
- Ask the clerk to separate the opening fee, mandatory surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings.
- Record the schedule date or rule cited.
- Record whether payment is due at filing.
Keep that clerk quote with the estate record and compare it with the itemised statutory lines above. For the broader budget, use the probate cost-line guide; court filing is only one category.
Alaska filing-cost map
Separate the Alaska filing charge from the estate budget
The Alaska filing record prices a proceeding, not every cost of settling an estate. This map connects the published amount or schedule to its value basis and identifies the local items that still need a clerk or court schedule.
| Question | Recorded Alaska answer | Carry into the case |
|---|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Collection of personal property by affidavit (AS 13.16.680) | Confirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route. |
| What property and basis count? | personal probate property only; net of enforceable liens and encumbrances. | Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately. |
| What is the amount screen? | $50,000 | Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut. |
| What is the time or deadline record? | 30 days after death; Alaska has separately-triggered creditor deadlines that cannot be reduced to one honest day count. Under AS 13.16.450 the personal representative publishes notice once a week for three successive weeks; claims that arose before death are barred (AS 13.16.460(a)) (1) within four months after the date of first publication if notice is given, but (2) within three years after death if no notice to creditors is published (outer nonclaim limit). Claims arising at/after death are barred four months after they arise or after PR performance is due (AS 13.16.460(b)). | Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number. |
| What does the cost record establish? | $250 is the recorded statewide amount. | Ask the Superior Court about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings. |
| What does compensation use? | Alaska Statute 13.16.430 entitles a personal representative to reasonable compensation for services. If a will fixes compensation and there is no contract with the decedent about it, the personal representative may renounce the will's provision (before qualifying) and take reasonable compensation instead, and may renounce all or part of the compensation by written renunciation filed with the court. No statutory percentage schedule exists. The relevant base is the estate accounting. | Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate. |
Filing record
What the Alaska cost record can answer
Filing a trust or estate action (probate)
Basis: estate-value. Status: operative. Depositing a will for safekeeping is a separate $50 charge; registering a trust document is $50.
- Trust or estate action filing $250
Case-file context
Keep the Alaska answer with its neighboring conditions
A route answer is easier to use when the facts that can change it stay in the same record. These are the reviewed Alaska descriptions adjacent to this page\'s main question; they are not a substitute for the source quotations or the receiving court\'s instructions.
Route context
Alaska allows collection of a decedent's personal property by affidavit thirty days after death when the estate is within the statutory personalty and vehicle caps. Formal probate is filed in the Superior Court, and the statewide Administrative Rule 9 fee schedule sets a uniform filing fee.
Thirty days after death, a successor may collect a decedent's personal property by affidavit if the entire estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, consists only of not more than (A) vehicles subject to registration under AS 28.10.011 with a total value not exceeding $100,000 and (B) other personal property not exceeding $50,000, and no personal representative is appointed or pending. The affidavit reaches personal property only (debts, tangible personalty, securities), not real estate.
Compensation context
Alaska Statute 13.16.430 entitles a personal representative to reasonable compensation for services. If a will fixes compensation and there is no contract with the decedent about it, the personal representative may renounce the will's provision (before qualifying) and take reasonable compensation instead, and may renounce all or part of the compensation by written renunciation filed with the court. No statutory percentage schedule exists.
Alaska Statute 13.16.430 entitles a personal representative to reasonable compensation for services. If a will fixes compensation and there is no contract with the decedent about it, the personal representative may renounce the will's provision (before qualifying) and take reasonable compensation instead, and may renounce all or part of the compensation by written renunciation filed with the court. No statutory percentage schedule exists. The relevant base is the estate accounting.
Deadline context
Alaska has separately-triggered creditor deadlines that cannot be reduced to one honest day count. Under AS 13.16.450 the personal representative publishes notice once a week for three successive weeks; claims that arose before death are barred (AS 13.16.460(a)) (1) within four months after the date of first publication if notice is given, but (2) within three years after death if no notice to creditors is published (outer nonclaim limit). Claims arising at/after death are barred four months after they arise or after PR performance is due (AS 13.16.460(b)).
- AK small-estate cap is two additive parts ($100k vehicles + $50k other personalty); modeling only the $50,000 figure understates eligibility for vehicle-heavy estates.
- No publisher edition stamp on the AK statute print endpoint or the Rules PDF - manual session-law review remains required each cycle.
Court-material note: Alaska publishes statewide standardized P-series probate self-help forms through the Alaska Court System. Probate is heard in the Superior Court (with magistrate judges handling some probate matters in smaller court locations).
Arithmetic illustration
See the Alaska amount screen without mistaking it for a result
The recorded Alaska ceiling is $50,000, and it is tested against personal probate property only, on a basis this site records as net of enforceable liens and encumbrances. Counted that way, $37,500 sits below the Alaska figure and $62,500 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what Alaska counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.
| Illustrative counted amount | Comparison to the Alaska ceiling | What it does not decide |
|---|---|---|
| $37,500 | Below $50,000 | Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties |
| $62,500 | Above $50,000 | Whether another statutory route or court process applies |
Next evidence to collect
Name the proceeding and ask for mandatory surcharges, copies, publication, and later filings separately.
- Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
- Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
- Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
- Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.
Official material
- Alaska Court System - Forms (Probate, P-series)Alaska Court System
- Alaska Court System - Probate Self-Help & FormsAlaska Court System
Alaska publishes statewide standardized P-series probate self-help forms through the Alaska Court System.
Probate is heard in the Superior Court (with magistrate judges handling some probate matters in smaller court locations).
Source trail
Records used by this Alaska map
- AS 13.16.680AS 13.16.680 - Collection of personal property by affidavit; reviewed August 9, 2026
- AS 13.16.430AS 13.16.430 - Compensation of personal representative; reviewed August 9, 2026
- AS 13.16.460AS 13.16.460 - Limitations on presentation of claims; reviewed August 9, 2026
- Alaska R. Admin. 9 (Fee Schedule)Alaska Administrative Rule 9 - Fee Schedule (probate matters); reviewed August 9, 2026
Filing-cost source
Each legal input links to the government source reviewed for this page. Source text can change; confirm the current rule before acting.
Alaska R. Admin. 9 (Fee Schedule)
Reviewed source note: (2) For probate matters: (A) Upon filing a trust or estate action other than the registration or deposit of a will or trust document 250.00 (B) For depositing a will with the court for safekeeping 50.00
What this means: PDF now extracts via the pdf.js fallback (318,492 chars). Rule 9 has been amended by successive Supreme Court Orders; it prints no single 'current through' stamp, so currentness is a disclosed limitation.