Alaska Statute 13.16.065(a) outlines the priority among persons seeking appointment as personal representative. It is the same in both formal or informal probate proceedings.
1. The person named in the probatable will;
2. The surviving spouse of the decedent who is a devisee;
3. Other devisees of the decedent;
4. The surviving spouse of the decedent;
5. Other heirs of the decedent;
6. Forty-five days after the death of the decedent, any creditor.
Where there is an equal priority among the heirs of the estate, the court has some discretion in determining who to appoint as the personal representative. Where there is an equal priority to appointment as personal representative among heirs (for example, five children of the decedent), the consent of all heirs to the nomination of the personal representative is required in order to avoid formal proceedings.
A person with priority to serve as the Personal Representative is not required to serve. They may write to the court stating that they do not want to serve, and the person with the next-highest priority may be appointed as Personal Representative. A person without priority to serve can also be nominated to be Personal Representative by each person who has higher priority.
To be appointed as Personal Representative, the person seeking appointment must file a form with the probate court. The type of form will depend on whether the probate is formal or informal, and whether the decedent died testate or intestate.
An objection to an appointment must be made by filing a formal probate and does not negate the priority outline of 13.16.065(a). Again, the form you will use to file a formal probate will depend on whether the decedent died testate or intestate.
No person is qualified to serve as Personal Representative who is under the age of nineteen. The remaining provisions of 13.16.065 further outline and explain various priority considerations in unusual circumstances (conservators, appointment of someone without priority, a person entitled to priority and eighteen years of age, etc.).