Can orders be changed after the divorce is final?

Custody and support, yes — property division, no (absent fraud). Custody modification requires a substantial change in circumstances, and support modification is commonly triggered when Civil Rule 90.3 would produce a number 15% or more different from the current order. Given how many Alaskans cycle through military PCS moves, Slope rotations, and boom-and-bust fishing seasons, modifications are routine here. Whether spousal support can be modified depends on its type — reorientation awards are short and usually fixed, while rehabilitative and long-term awards have more flexibility.

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Alaska Divorce, Custody & Family Law Attorneys

Alaska does family law its own way.

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How we match your Alaska family law case

When you submit a Alaska family law matter, we route it through a national network of independent partner firms and put it in front of the one that fits best — based on the kind of case it is, what it is likely to involve, where it has to be handled, and who has capacity to take it on now.

Case type

A family law matter needs someone who handles family law work day to day, not a generalist. Practice area is the first filter.

Size and complexity

Some firms are built for catastrophic injury and multi-party litigation; others resolve straightforward claims quickly. We weigh what your matter is likely to involve against how each firm actually works.

Jurisdiction and licensing

Your matter is decided under Alaska law, so it goes to an attorney licensed in Alaska who regularly appears where your case would be heard.

Capacity and fit

Availability, conflicts of interest and language all matter. If the best-fit firm cannot take your case, we route it to the next one that can — or tell you plainly when no one in the network is the right answer.

Every partner reviews your case for free. Injury and workers’ compensation matters are handled on contingency — no fee unless you win. Other matters are quoted upfront, before you commit to anything.

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DearLegal provides marketing and matching services and is not a law firm. Submitting a case does not create an attorney-client relationship. Matches depend on case type, jurisdiction and firm availability.

Exhibit A

What happens with a family law claim in Alaska

Day 0
You decide to act.
Separation, custody, support or a modification. Gather financials, the children’s schedules and any agreements or orders that already exist.
Within 24 hours
Tell us what happened.
Two minutes on this page. A Alaska family law attorney reviews it for free and, if it’s a fit, you’re matched within 24 hours.
Weeks 1–4
Filing and disclosures.
The petition is filed and both sides exchange financial disclosures. Temporary orders for custody or support can be requested early in Alaska.
Months 1–6
Negotiation or mediation.
Most cases settle here — parenting plans, division of property, support. Your attorney negotiates from the disclosures, not from guesses.
If it doesn’t settle
Hearing or trial.
Contested issues go before a judge. Preparation matters more than argument; your attorney builds the file for it from day one.
Resolution
Final order.
Fees are quoted before you commit — hourly or a retainer, spelled out in writing at the free consultation.

Residency Requirement: No minimum
No minimum period — must be a resident with intent to remain (AS 25.24.080)
Property Division System: Equitable distribution
Equitable distribution (AS 25.24.160), with an optional community property election by agreement or trust (AS 34.77.010 et seq.)
Custody Standard: Best interests
Best interests of the child — nine statutory factors (AS 25.24.150(c))
Child Support Guidelines: 20%
Percentage of obligor income under Civil Rule 90.3 — 20% for one child, 27% for two, 33% for three
Spousal Support Framework: Reorientation
Reorientation, rehabilitative, or long-term spousal support (AS 25.24.160(a)(2))
Typical attorney fee: Hourly
Hourly / Flat Fee

Because the defaults here aren't the defaults anywhere else. Alaska divides marital property under equitable distribution (AS 25.24.160) — unless you and your spouse signed a community property agreement or trust under the Alaska Community Property Act (AS 34.77.010 et seq.), in which case a different regime controls and most people don't realize it until the divorce. Custody runs through the nine best-interests factors of AS 25.24.150(c), with a rebuttable presumption against custody for a parent with a history of domestic violence. Child support follows Civil Rule 90.3's percentage-of-obligor-income formula — clean on a W-2, messy when income comes from seasonal fishing, Slope rotations, or self-employment. Add Permanent Fund Dividends, limited-entry fishing permits, Native corporation shares, ICWA in cases involving Alaska Native children, and tribal-court jurisdiction questions, and you have a docket no out-of-state playbook covers. A judge cannot advise you; an Alaska attorney can.

Exhibit B

When to call a family law attorney in Alaska

Does any of this sound like you? Tap what applies.

0of 7 apply

Tick anything that applies. Even one is reason enough to talk to a Alaska family law attorney before you talk to an insurer.

Talk to an attorney anyway

Meanwhile, don’t

Leaving the state with the children before any custody order exists — it invites emergency motions and colors the entire nine-factor analysis
Assuming your PFDs are yours alone — dividends received during the marriage are marital property, and your PFD counts as income for child support
Forgetting about a community property agreement or trust signed years ago for estate-planning reasons — an AS 34.77 election changes how everything is divided
Understating seasonal or rotation income on the child support affidavit — Rule 90.3 disputes are won and lost on income documentation
Filing custody claims in Alaska when the children's home state under the UCCJEA is somewhere else — or skipping the ICWA inquiry in a case involving an Alaska Native child
Venting on social media mid-case — it surfaces in the custody investigator's report
Signing a dissolution agreement just to be done, without having anyone value the fishing permit, the business, or the retirement accounts

Exhibit C

Family Law cases we take in Alaska

Which one is closest to yours?

Dissolution (joint petition)

Alaska's agreed-divorce procedure under AS 25.24.200 — both spouses petition together with a complete agreement. The fastest, cheapest path when there's nothing left to fight about.

Sound like yours? A Alaska attorney reviews it free — fees are quoted upfront, before you commit.

Start my free review

Exhibit D

How much do Alaska family law attorneys cost?

Typical fee schedule

Alaska · Family Law

Fee modelHourly / Flat Fee

Feequoted per petition or matter

Filing costsitemized upfront

Case reviewFree

Illustrative only. Your fee terms are set in a written agreement with your attorney and may include costs and expenses regardless of outcome.

Family Law matters in Alaska are usually a flat fee per filing — quoted before you commit, not billed by the hour.

No Alaska family lawyer can take your divorce on contingency — Alaska Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5(d) forbids fees contingent on securing a divorce or on the amount of support or property obtained. Expect hourly billing against a retainer for contested work, with flat fees common for dissolutions and other limited-scope matters. The leverage point is AS 25.24.140: where one spouse controls the income — a frequent pattern with Slope and fishing households — Alaska courts can order that spouse to fund the other's attorney during and after the case.

A good attorney walks through every number at your free consultation — before you sign anything.

Get startedTakes about two minutes. No obligation.

Exhibit E

What your Alaska family law compensation can include

A Alaska family law recovery is built from several parts. Tap one to see what it covers.

Property Division

Equitable — not automatically equal — division of the marital estate under AS 25.24.160, including PFDs, permits, vessels, businesses, and retirement. An AS 34.77 community property election, where one exists, controls instead.

DearLegal is a legal referral service, not a law firm. We connect individuals with licensed attorneys who can evaluate their case. Nothing on this page constitutes legal advice. Results vary based on individual circumstances.

Exhibit F

Alaska family law questions, answered

Still unsure? Tell us what happened and a Alaska attorney will review it for free.

Start free review

Immediately, if you're genuinely a resident. Alaska imposes no minimum residency period — AS 25.24.080 requires only that you live here with the intent to remain. That makes Alaska unusual; most states make you wait three to twelve months. The catch is custody: even if Alaska can grant your divorce, the UCCJEA (AS 25.30.300 et seq.) generally sends custody questions to the state where the children have lived for the past six months. Filing here too early on custody is one of the most common — and most expensive — mistakes.

A dissolution under AS 25.24.200 is Alaska's joint-petition procedure: both spouses agree on everything — property, debts, custody, support — and file together. It's faster (often 30–90 days), cheaper, and doesn't require proving grounds. A divorce is the contested track, filed by one spouse under the grounds in AS 25.24.050, which include the no-fault ground of incompatibility of temperament. If you and your spouse agree on most things but not all, you file for divorce and settle the rest — you can't use the dissolution shortcut with open disputes.

PFDs paid during the marriage are marital property and go into the pot the court divides — people are often surprised by that. Children's PFDs belong to the children, but the divorce decree or custody order should say who applies for them and how they're held. And under Civil Rule 90.3, your own PFD counts as income when child support is calculated.

Carefully. A limited-entry permit acquired during the marriage is a marital asset, but the Limited Entry Act restricts who can hold one — courts can't just split it. In practice the permit is valued (recent transfer prices for the fishery, earnings history) and offset against other assets, with one spouse keeping the permit and the other receiving equalizing property or payments. Vessels, IFQ shares, and crew arrangements complicate it further. The same goes for Native corporation shares, which are generally inalienable under ANCSA — they typically stay with the shareholder spouse, but dividends received during the marriage raise their own classification questions.

The nine factors of AS 25.24.150(c) still control, but geography does real work in Alaska cases. A week-on/week-off schedule is unrealistic between Anchorage and Kotzebue, and judges know it. Courts build plans around school-year/summer splits, travel cost allocation, and telephone or video contact, and they weigh each parent's stability and willingness to facilitate the other parent's relationship. If a parent works a rotational schedule — North Slope, fishing seasons, military deployments — the plan has to be written around the rotation, not against it.

Alaska is one of the few states still using a percentage-of-obligor-income model. Under Civil Rule 90.3, the noncustodial parent pays 20% of adjusted annual income for one child, 27% for two, and 33% for three, with adjustments for shared custody (over 30% of overnights), divided custody, health insurance, and a cap at high incomes plus a minimum at the bottom. The fights are rarely about the percentages — they're about what counts as income, especially with seasonal fishing earnings, per diem, and self-employment deductions.

Significantly. A parent with a history of perpetrating domestic violence faces a rebuttable presumption against custody under AS 25.24.150(g), and overcoming it generally requires completing an intervention program and showing the children are safe. Protective orders run separately under AS 18.66.100 et seq. — 20-day ex parte orders and one-year long-term orders. If there's violence in your case, on either side of it, get counsel before the first hearing.