Michael Pestrikoff, Anna Rae Bent, and Lisa D. Bent, Appellants v. Charles A. Hoff and Estate of Dorothy Morrison…

Summary

The Alaska Supreme Court affirmed the decision excluding two boats and a fishing charter business from an intestate estate because the property was titled solely in the surviving spouse's name. The court held that equitable-distribution principles applicable in divorce do not retitle marital property at death, and that title-based ownership principles govern probate proceedings. The title presumption remains rebuttable, but the children presented no evidence showing joint ownership, wrongful titling, or grounds for equitable relief.