(a) Within seven years after a judgment of escheat under Alaska Stat. § 38.95.220, a person who is not a party to the escheat proceeding may bring an action in the superior court to prove the person’s claim to the real property. If the plaintiff establishes the claim and establishes that the plaintiff had no knowledge of the prior escheat proceeding, the court shall award the plaintiff the property if it has been managed under Alaska Stat. § 38.95.230(a)(2), or the appraised value of the property under Alaska Stat. § 38.95.230(b) if the property has been managed under Alaska Stat. § 38.95.230(a)(1).
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Terms Used In Alaska Statutes 38.95.240

  • action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
  • Escheat: Reversion of real or personal property to the state when 1) a person dies without leaving a will and has no heirs, or 2) when the property (such as a bank account) has been inactive for a certain period of time. Source: OCC
  • person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, organization, business trust, or society, as well as a natural person. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • property: includes real and personal property. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • state: means the State of Alaska unless applied to the different parts of the United States and in the latter case it includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
(b) If it is determined that the plaintiff is entitled to the property, the department shall deliver the property to the plaintiff. The rents, profits, interest, or dividends that accrue to the state during its possession of the property are the property of the state and may not be recovered.
(c) If it is determined that the plaintiff is entitled to the appraised value of property that has been disposed of under Alaska Stat. § 38.95.230(a)(1), at the department’s discretion it may offer to the plaintiff land owned by the state and available for disposal that is of comparable value to the appraised value under Alaska Stat. § 38.95.230(a)(1). If the department does not offer land of comparable value, or if the plaintiff refuses the department’s offer, the plaintiff is entitled to the established value of the property under Alaska Stat. § 38.95.230(b).
(d) The time limitation of seven years does not apply to a minor or an incapacitated person as defined by Alaska Stat. § 13.26.005, but such a person must bring an action to prove the person’s claim to the real property within one year after the incapacity ceases.
(e) This section does not prevent the state from transferring escheated real property to a person who provides proof satisfactory to the department that the person is the owner of the real property when the department determines the transfer to be appropriate.
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