Tracy Hester, Appellant v. Aurora Landau; Showboat Show Club Anchorage, LLC; Terry Maurice Stahlman; and Estate Of…

Summary

The court affirmed the denial of Tracy Hester’s motion for relief from a judgment entered against the estate of James Goard, but did so on an alternate ground. It held that Alaska’s probate code assigns authority to act for an estate to its personal representative, and Hester, as a beneficiary who was not the personal representative, lacked authority to seek relief on the estate’s behalf. The court therefore did not decide whether service on Goard or the later substitution of the estate was defective, and WINFREE, Justice, concurring, highlighted those unresolved service-of-process questions.