ANCSA Stock Will: How to Transfer Native Corporation Shares

Alaska Native Corporation shares follow different inheritance rules than every other asset in your estate. They don't go through court probate. They're not controlled by your general will. They're administered entirely by the corporation that issued them — and if you haven't filed a stock will (Testamentary Disposition Form) directly with your corporation, your shares will be distributed according to intestate succession rules, often creating fractional shares, voting rights complications, and years of administrative delay.

What Makes ANCSA Shares Different

Under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and Alaska Statute 13.16.705(b), shares in Regional and Village Corporations are excluded from the standard probate process. When a shareholder dies, the corporation's shareholder records department — not the courts — handles the transfer.

This means:

• Your general will may mention your shares, but it's the corporation's filed TDF that controls
• No court oversight of the transfer — the corporation follows its own procedures
• Timing depends on the corporation's processing speed, not probate court schedules
• Disputes go through corporate dispute resolution, not estate litigation

The Testamentary Disposition Form (TDF)

The stock will — officially called a Testamentary Disposition Form — is the document that tells your corporation who should receive your shares after death. Every major corporation (CIRI, Ahtna, Sealaska, Doyon, Arctic Slope, Calista, etc.) has its own form, though the legal requirements are similar:

• Must be signed by the shareholder
• Must be acknowledged before a notary public
• Must be filed directly with the corporation's shareholder records department
• Can be updated or revoked by filing a new TDF at any time

Without a TDF on file, the corporation will check for a general will that mentions the shares. Without either document, shares are distributed through intestate succession — the statutory default that often creates problems.

Why Intestate Distribution Creates Fractional Freezes

When shares pass by intestate succession, they're divided among all legal heirs according to Alaska's formula. For a shareholder with a spouse and three children, this means splitting shares into fractions.

The problem: many corporations freeze fractional shares. Under corporate policy:

• Whole shares are distributed to beneficiaries
• Fractional remainders may be resolved by random drawing (if the TDF doesn't specify)
• Some corporations prohibit creating new fractional interests entirely
• Fractionalized shares become increasingly difficult to manage across generations

A TDF avoids this by specifying exactly who gets which shares — including which beneficiary receives any odd fractional portion.

Voting Rights and Non-Native Beneficiaries

A critical distinction between lifetime gifts and testamentary transfers:

Lifetime gifts (inter vivos): Shareholders can only gift shares to specific blood or legally adopted relatives — children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and siblings. Gifts to spouses, parents, or friends are prohibited by law. The recipient must be Alaska Native or a descendant and provide proof (CDIB card or tribal ID).

Testamentary transfers (TDF/stock will): A shareholder can bequeath shares to anyone — including a non-Native spouse, stepchildren, or friends. But if the beneficiary is not Alaska Native or a lineal descendant, the shares automatically become non-voting stock. They receive dividends but cannot vote in corporate elections.

This distinction matters for estate planning: you might want your non-Native spouse to receive dividend income, but if corporate governance is important to your family, consider directing voting shares to Native descendants and other assets to your spouse.

Coordinating the Stock Will with Your Estate Plan

The TDF should be part of — not separate from — your overall estate plan:

1. Inventory your shares: How many shares in which corporations? Class A common, Class B, or settlement trust beneficiary interests?
2. Check existing TDF: Contact your corporation's shareholder records department to confirm what's currently on file. Outdated TDFs from decades ago may name ex-spouses or deceased relatives.
3. Align with your general will: Your will should acknowledge that ANCSA shares are handled separately by TDF. Avoid contradictory instructions.
4. Consider dividend implications: Shares produce dividends. Your estate plan should address whether dividend income goes to the same person who inherits the shares or whether you want to direct dividends differently during trust administration.
5. Name alternates: If your primary beneficiary predeceases you and you haven't updated the TDF, the corporation falls back to intestate rules for that portion.

BIA Restricted Allotments (Separate Process)

If you own a restricted Native allotment or townsite lot, these are federal trust property — not ANCSA corporate shares. They cannot be transferred through either the state courts or ANCSA corporate boards. Instead, they undergo federal probate administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs through an administrative law judge.

This is an entirely separate process from the stock will, with different forms, different timelines, and federal (not state) jurisdiction. If you hold both ANCSA shares and restricted allotments, you need both a corporate TDF and awareness of the BIA process.

Next Steps

The Alaska Basic Estate Planning Kit includes an ANCSA share transfer worksheet that walks you through the TDF process for each corporation, coordinates your stock will with your general estate plan, and tracks dividend designation preferences. It's designed to prevent the fractional freeze and intestate default problems that cost Alaska Native families years of administrative headaches.

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