Classrooms
Classrooms include background information on the legal issue and walk you through steps needed to handle the issue. Each topic has several lessons. You can pick specific lessons from the menu, or view the entire series. Select the "watch" tab to view a presentation, or the "read" tab if you prefer written information.
Alaska Advance Health Care Directive
An advance health care directive allows you to name someone else to make health care decisions for you if you are unable to make your wishes known, as well as allowing you to give instructions in advance about some treatments. This classrooms gives some background information and covers appointing your agent, providing instructions for treatment options and completing the form.
Completing a Power of Attorney
A Power of Attorney (POA) is one type of advance directive that allows you to authorize another person to act on your behalf. POA's are not just for people who are sick or old. If something happened to you and you ended up in the hospital, how would your bills get paid, or your other personal business taken care of? This series goes over the Power of Attorney form, including the options allowed and walks through filling out each section
Formal Probate
The probate process in Alaska can be a relatively simple and methodical process, but there are times when an estate is complicated and will need to go through what is called a “formal” probate process in court. This Classroom gives and overview of the formal probate process and when it is needed, provides step by step guidelines for completing a formal probate petition, and provides information on additional forms that need to be filed for formal probate. Once a Personal Representative is appointed, the remainder of the probate process, whether formal or informal, follows the same steps. Those procedures can be found in the Basics of Probate Classroom, under "Procedures Following Appointment as Personal Rep."
Preparing Your Own Will
An attorney is the best person to help you write your Will, but if no attorney is available you can write your own Will. This Classroom goes over the basics of what a will does, how your property would be distributed if you don't have a will, describes the contents of each section in a standard will, and provides Alaska specific information that is important to consider if writing your own will. A sample will is provided at the end of the classroom that can be used as a guideline in writing a will for yourself.
The Basics of Probate
"Probate" is used to describe the legal process by which a deceased person’s affairs are settled and his property distributed to those who are entitled to receive it. This Classroom covers the basic issues involved in probate including the role of a personal representative, the special protections for family members, a review of the intestacy rules, which describe how an estate should be divided when there is no Will and the options to consider when deciding whether "to probate or not to probate." The second section discusses the actual probate process, from filing the probate petition to completing the work as the personal representative.