An Alaska domestic asset protection trust, often shortened to DAPT, is a self-settled trust designed to let the person who transfers property remain a potential beneficiary while restricting transfers of that beneficial interest. Alaska's statute does not use the label “DAPT.” Instead, it permits a written trust to restrain voluntary and involuntary transfers of a beneficiary's interest before the trustee pays or delivers that interest, expressly including a beneficiary who is also the settlor. AS 34.40.110(a)
That is a specialized form of planning, not another name for an ordinary living trust and not a guarantee against every claim. For the broader rules on Alaska trust administration, notices, and trustee duties, read our Alaska trust law guide. This article focuses on the asset-protection statute, the Alaska nexus used to invoke AS 13.36.035(c)'s governing-law safe harbor, and the limits a settlor needs to understand before transferring property.
The statute links below point to the Alaska Legislature's current Title 13 and Title 34 statutory text and were checked on August 21, 2026.
What AS 34.40.110 permits
The core rule is a spendthrift-style transfer restriction. A written trust may keep a beneficiary from voluntarily assigning an interest or having it involuntarily transferred before the trustee pays or delivers it. The protected beneficiary may be the settlor. The statute also says that a beneficiary's use or occupancy of trust-owned real or tangible personal property is not a payment or delivery when it occurs under the trustee's discretionary authority in the trust instrument. AS 34.40.110(a)
When the restriction qualifies, it prevents both an existing creditor and someone who later becomes a creditor from satisfying a claim from the beneficiary's trust interest, subject to the statute's exceptions. The protection applies before a distribution; the opening rule does not describe property already paid or delivered to the beneficiary as remaining restricted. AS 34.40.110(a)–(b)
The arrangement can leave the settlor eligible for distributions in another person's discretion. AS 34.40.110(f) AS 34.40.110(m) If the instrument instead requires distributions of income or principal to the settlor, a settlor creditor generally may overcome the restriction as to the affected portion, subject to the statute's listed exceptions. AS 34.40.110(b)(3), (c) The trust instrument also controls the settlor's access: an express or implied side agreement that tries to give the settlor greater rights than the document states is void. AS 34.40.110(i)
The four safe-harbor requirements for an Alaska governing-law provision
A DAPT for someone outside Alaska may rely on a provision choosing Alaska law and Alaska jurisdiction. Under AS 13.36.035(c), that provision is valid, effective, and conclusive under Alaska law if all four statutory conditions are present:
- Alaska-deposited assets. Some or all trust assets must be deposited in Alaska and administered by a qualified person. The statute includes an Alaska checking account, time deposit, certificate of deposit, brokerage account, trust-company fiduciary account, or a similar Alaska account or deposit. AS 13.36.035(c)(1)
- A qualified-person trustee. A qualified person must be designated as a trustee in the governing instrument or by a court with jurisdiction over the trust. AS 13.36.035(c)(2)
- Records and tax-return authority. That trustee's powers must include maintaining trust records and preparing, or arranging the preparation of, an income-tax return the trust must file. Those responsibilities may be exclusive or shared. AS 13.36.035(c)(3)
- Actual Alaska administration. Part or all of the trust administration must occur in Alaska, including physically maintaining trust records there. AS 13.36.035(c)(4)
A “qualified person” is an individual who meets Alaska's statutory residence and domicile test, an Alaska-organized trust company with its principal place of business in Alaska, or a qualifying bank or national banking association with trust powers and its principal place of business in Alaska. AS 13.36.390(3)
These are operational requirements, not words to paste into a document. The asset location, trustee appointment, records, the trustee's tax-return authority, and administration need to match the arrangement the trust describes.
The limits built into the protection
AS 34.40.110(b) identifies four circumstances in which a settlor's creditor may overcome the transfer restriction as to the affected portion of the trust. AS 34.40.110(c)
- Intent to defraud that creditor. The creditor must establish the settlor's intent by clear and convincing evidence and satisfy subsection (d)'s filing rules. The statute also says that an expressed intention to protect trust assets from potential future creditors is not itself evidence of fraudulent intent. AS 34.40.110(b)(1)
- A power to revoke or terminate. Except for the statute's treatment of an eligible individual retirement account trust, the restriction does not protect the settlor when the settlor can revoke or terminate all or part of the trust without the consent of someone whose substantial beneficial interest would be adversely affected. The paragraph excludes specified veto, appointment, and distribution rights from its meaning of “revoke or terminate.” AS 34.40.110(b)(2)
- Required distributions to the settlor. Except for an eligible individual retirement account trust and the listed retained-interest exceptions, a settlor creditor may overcome the restriction as to the affected portion when the trust requires all or part of its income or principal to be distributed to the settlor. AS 34.40.110(b)(3), (c)
- Child-support default. A settlor creditor may overcome the restriction as to property transferred while the settlor was at least 30 days in default on a payment due under a child-support judgment or order. AS 34.40.110(b)(4), (c)
The statute separately requires a settlor who is also a beneficiary to sign a sworn affidavit before transferring assets to the trust. The affidavit must state that the settlor:
- has the right, title, and authority to transfer the assets; AS 34.40.110(j)(1)
- will not be rendered insolvent by the transfer; AS 34.40.110(j)(2)
- does not intend to defraud a creditor; AS 34.40.110(j)(3)
- identifies pending or threatened court actions and administrative proceedings on attachments to the affidavit; AS 34.40.110(j)(4)–(5)
- is not more than 30 days behind on a child-support obligation at the time of transfer; AS 34.40.110(j)(6)
- does not contemplate a bankruptcy filing; and AS 34.40.110(j)(7)
- is not transferring assets derived from unlawful activities. AS 34.40.110(j)(8)
An attorney should apply these provisions to the proposed trust and each contemplated transfer. A form affidavit or a trust label cannot establish that the underlying statements are true.
The fraudulent-transfer lookback
Alaska uses different filing rules depending on when the creditor's claim arose.
A creditor from before the transfer. The action must be brought within the later of four years after the transfer or one year after the creditor discovered, or reasonably could have discovered, the transfer. The discovery route has additional conditions: the creditor must either show by a preponderance of the evidence that it asserted a specific claim before the transfer, or file another action, other than the subsection (b)(1) action, against the settlor within four years after the transfer that asserts a claim based on the settlor's pre-transfer act or omission. AS 34.40.110(d)(1)
A creditor whose claim arises after the transfer. The fraudulent-transfer action must be brought within four years after the transfer. AS 34.40.110(d)(2)
These are deadlines for the claim described in subsection (b)(1), not permission to transfer property with fraudulent intent. That underlying claim requires clear and convincing evidence of intent to defraud the creditor. AS 34.40.110(b)(1) AS 34.40.110(d) Because subsection (d) measures time from “the transfer,” a settlor and trustee should keep a dated record of each contribution and obtain advice about which deadline applies.
Federal bankruptcy law has a separate rule. A bankruptcy trustee may avoid a transfer made within 10 years before the bankruptcy filing when the transfer was to a self-settled trust or similar device, the debtor made the transfer and is a beneficiary, and the debtor acted with actual intent to hinder, delay, or defraud an entity to which the debtor was or became indebted. The 10-year period is conditional, not automatic. 11 U.S.C. § 548(e)
Can a nonresident use an Alaska DAPT?
Possibly. The four conditions in AS 13.36.035(c) focus on the trust's Alaska assets, qualified trustee, trustee responsibilities, and actual administration; they do not say that the settlor or beneficiary must reside in Alaska. AS 13.36.035(c)
Alaska also allows an out-of-state individual, trust company, or bank to serve as an additional trustee when at least one qualified person serves as trustee and the state-jurisdiction provision satisfies AS 13.36.035(c). AS 13.36.320 A plan invoking the subsection (c) safe harbor still needs the qualified Alaska trustee and actual Alaska administration described there.
The limit is important: selecting Alaska law in the document is not, by itself, compliance with the four safe-harbor conditions. AS 13.36.035(c) addresses the trust's validity, construction, and administration, while AS 34.40.110 describes its restriction as enforceable under applicable nonbankruptcy law. AS 13.36.035(c)–(d) AS 34.40.110(a) The Alaska safe harbor also does not guarantee that every federal or non-Alaska court will apply Alaska law. A federal bankruptcy court declined to apply Alaska law to a trust dispute centered on Washington parties, assets, and creditors even though the trust selected Alaska law, named an Alaska trustee, and held a $10,000 Alaska certificate of deposit. In re Huber, 493 B.R. 798 (Bankr. W.D. Wash. 2013) A nonresident should ask counsel to analyze every relevant jurisdiction, federal bankruptcy law, taxes, and the law governing particular property before formation or funding.
Alaska DAPT vs. revocable living trust
A revocable living trust and an Alaska DAPT use different control and creditor rules. For a trust within AS 13.36.338, Alaska presumes a trust executed on or after August 30, 2000 is revocable unless it is expressly made irrevocable. A qualifying DAPT cannot leave the settlor an unrestricted unilateral power to revoke. AS 13.36.338 AS 34.40.110(b)(2)
| Question | Alaska DAPT | Revocable living trust |
|---|---|---|
| Can the settlor revoke it freely? | No. The transfer restriction can be overcome if the settlor can revoke or terminate without the consent described in the statute. AS 34.40.110(b)(2) | If the trust is revocable, the settlor may use the method in the instrument or a signed writing under the statute's conditions. AS 13.36.338–.340 |
| Can the settlor receive property? | The settlor may remain a beneficiary, but required distributions generally defeat the restriction as to the affected portion; access is usually subject to another person's discretion. AS 34.40.110(a) AS 34.40.110(b)(3), (c) AS 34.40.110(f) AS 34.40.110(m) | The settlor's rights depend on the document and Alaska's modification and revocation rules. AS 13.36.338–.340 |
| Are assets subject to the settlor's creditors during life? | A qualifying transfer restriction prevents creditors from satisfying claims from the beneficial interest, subject to the statute's exceptions. AS 34.40.110(b) | Yes. During the settlor's lifetime, the trust property is subject to the settlor's creditor claims even if the document contains a spendthrift restriction. AS 13.36.368(a)(1) |
| What specialized formation rules apply? | A nonresident plan invoking the AS 13.36.035(c) safe harbor must satisfy the four jurisdiction conditions. Limits on retained powers and distributions, and the sworn affidavit, also need attention. AS 13.36.035(c) AS 34.40.110(b)(2) AS 34.40.110(b)(3) AS 34.40.110(j) | Those DAPT provisions are not what makes a trust revocable; the document and Alaska's revocation statutes govern. AS 13.36.338–.340 |
For a broader operational comparison, see Revocable vs. Irrevocable Trusts.
FAQ
Can the person who creates an Alaska DAPT also be a beneficiary?
Yes. AS 34.40.110(a) expressly includes a beneficiary who is the settlor. The trust still must satisfy the other statutory conditions and limits. AS 34.40.110(a)–(b)
Is an Alaska DAPT revocable?
A structure relying on AS 34.40.110 cannot give the settlor an unrestricted unilateral power to revoke or terminate it. Subsection (b)(2) explains the consent requirement and the retained rights that do not count as a power to revoke or terminate. AS 34.40.110(b)(2)
Does the four-year period guarantee protection?
No. The statute's four-year periods are filing rules for the fraudulent-transfer claim described in subsection (b)(1). The transfer still must satisfy the statute, and a qualifying creditor may proceed within the applicable deadline. AS 34.40.110(b)(1) AS 34.40.110(d)
Can I create an Alaska DAPT if I live in another state?
Potentially, but an Alaska governing-law clause alone does not satisfy the subsection (c) safe harbor. A nonresident plan invoking that safe harbor needs the Alaska assets, qualified-person trustee, trustee powers, and actual Alaska administration described in all four parts of AS 13.36.035(c). AS 13.36.035(c)
Is an Alaska DAPT the same as a revocable living trust?
No. Alaska makes revocable-trust property subject to the settlor's creditor claims during the settlor's lifetime, regardless of a spendthrift restriction. A DAPT instead relies on the qualified restriction and exceptions in AS 34.40.110. AS 13.36.368(a)(1) AS 34.40.110(a)–(b)
When to talk to an attorney
Talk with a qualified Alaska trust attorney before creating or funding an Alaska DAPT. Formation requires choices about the trust terms, trustee and administration structure, retained powers, creditor facts, the sworn affidavit, taxes, and every jurisdiction connected to the settlor and property. An attorney can determine whether this structure is available and appropriate before assets move or documents are signed.
This guide is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Consult qualified legal and tax professionals for decisions about your trust.