THE ALASKA STATUTES - 2000
Title 13. DECEDENTS' ESTATES, GUARDIANSHIPS, TRANSFERS, AND
TRUSTS
Chapter 13.12. INTESTACY, WILLS, AND DONATIVE TRANSFERS
International will; requirements.
(a) The international will must be written. The will does
not need to be written by the testator. The will may be written in any
language, or by hand or other means.
(b) The testator shall declare in the presence of two witnesses and of a person authorized to act in connection with international wills that the document is the testator's will and that the testator knows the contents of the will. The testator does not need to inform the witnesses, or the authorized person, of the contents of the will.
(c) In the presence of the witnesses, and of the authorized person, the testator shall sign the international will, or, if the testator has previously signed it, shall acknowledge the testator's signature.
(d) When the testator is unable to sign, the absence of the testator's signature does not affect the validity of the international will if the testator indicates the reason for the testator's inability to sign and the authorized person makes note of the reason on the will. In these cases, it is permissible for any other person present, including the authorized person or one of the witnesses, at the direction of the testator, to sign the testator's name for the testator, if the authorized person makes note of this also on the will, but it is not required that a person sign the testator's name for the testator.
(e) The witnesses and the authorized person shall there and then attest the international will by signing in the presence of the testator. Sec. 13.12.913.
International will; other points of form.
(a) The signatures shall be placed at the end of the international
will. If the will consists of several sheets, each sheet shall be signed
by the testator or, if the testator is unable to sign, by the person signing
on the testator's behalf or, if a person is not signing on the testator's
behalf, by the authorized person. In addition, each sheet shall be numbered.
(b) The date of the international will is the date of its signature by the authorized person. That date shall be noted at the end of the will by the authorized person.
(c) The authorized person shall ask the testator whether the testator wishes to make a declaration concerning the safekeeping of the will. If so and at the express request of the testator the place where the testator intends to have the will kept shall be mentioned in the certificate provided for in AS 13.12.915 .
(d) An international will executed in compliance with AS 13.12.913
is not invalid merely because it does not comply with this section.
Sec. 13.12.914.
International will; certificate.
The authorized person shall attach to the international will a
certificate to be signed by the authorized person establishing that the
requirements of AS 13.12.912 - 13.12.921 for valid execution of an international
will have been complied with. The authorized person shall keep a copy of
the certificate and deliver another to the testator. The certificate shall
be substantially in the following form: See Form AK-WIL-01900. Sec. 13.12.915.
International will; effect of certificate.
In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the certificate of
the authorized person is conclusive of the formal validity of the instrument
as an international will under AS 13.12.912 - 13.12.921. The absence or
irregularity of a certificate does not affect the formal validity of a
will under AS 13.12.912 - 13.12.921. Sec. 13.12.916.
International will; revocation.
An international will is subject to the ordinary rules of revocation
of wills. Sec. 13.12.917.
Source and construction.
AS 13.12.912 - 13.12.917 and 13.12.921 derive from the Annex to
Convention of October 26, 1973, Providing a Uniform Law on the Form of
an International Will. In interpreting and applying AS 13.12.912 - 13.12.921,
regard shall be had to its international origin and to the need for uniformity
in its interpretation. Sec. 13.12.918.
Persons authorized to act in relation to international will;
eligibility;
recognition by authorizing agency.
Individuals who are licensed to practice law in this state and
who are in good standing as active law practitioners in this state, are
hereby declared to be authorized persons in relation to international wills.
Sec. 13.12.919.
International will information registration.
The Department of Community and Economic Development shall establish
a registry system by which authorized persons may register in a central
information center information regarding the execution of international
wills, keeping that information in strictest confidence until the death
of the maker and then making it available to any person desiring information
about any will who presents a death certificate or other satisfactory evidence
of the testator's death to the center. Information that may be received,
preserved in confidence until death, and reported as indicated is limited
to the testator's name, social security, or other individual identifying
number established by law, address, and date and place of birth, and the
intended place of deposit or safekeeping of the instrument pending the
death of the maker. The Department of Community and Economic Development,
at the request of the authorized person, may cause the information it receives
about execution of an international will to be transmitted to the registry
system of another jurisdiction as identified by the testator, if that other
system adheres to rules protecting the confidentiality of the information
similar to those established in this state. Sec. 13.12.920.
Definitions for AS 13.12.912 - 13.12.921.
In AS 13.12.912 - 13.12.921,
(1) "authorized person" and "person authorized to act in
connection with international wills" mean a person who by AS 13.12.919 , or by
the laws of the United States, including members of the diplomatic and
consular service of the United States designated by federal regulations,
is empowered to supervise the execution of international wills;
(2) "international will" means a will executed in conformity with AS 13.12.912 - 13.12.915. Sec. 13.12.921.
