Probate in Wyoming: do you need a lawyer, and what it costs

Settling an estate in Wyoming

What an executor deals with after the funeral: the will, the court, creditors, tax and closing the estate. Each fact links to the statute it comes from and shows the date we last read it.

Filing the original will

In Wyoming, if you hold the original will of the person who died, you must deliver it to the clerk of the district court or to the executor named in it within 10 days after you learn of the death. If you don't, you can be held responsible for any harm the delay causes.

Wyo. Stat. § 2-6-119Read the statute · wyoleg.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Which court handles probate

In Wyoming, probate is handled by the district court, sitting as a probate court, in the county where the person who died lived. If they lived out of state, it is opened in the county where they died if they left property there, or otherwise in a county where some of their property is.

Wyo. Stat. §§ 2-2-101, 2-2-102Read the statute · wyoleg.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Creditors' deadline to make claims

In Wyoming, after letters are issued the executor or administrator (called the personal representative) must publish a notice of probate once a week for three weeks, which tells creditors to file their claims with the court clerk. Creditors have three months from the first publication, and known creditors must also be mailed the notice and get at least 30 days after mailing.

Wyo. Stat. §§ 2-7-201, 2-7-205, 2-7-703Read the statute · wyoleg.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Estate inventory

In Wyoming, the executor or administrator (called the personal representative) must file a sworn inventory of everything the person who died owned with the court within 120 days after appointment. Missing the deadline without good cause can lead to a fine or removal.

Wyo. Stat. §§ 2-7-403, 2-7-409Read the statute · wyoleg.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

The order estate debts are paid

In Wyoming, if the estate cannot pay every bill, the executor or administrator pays them in a set order: court costs, other administration costs, funeral and burial costs, family allowances, federal priority debts and taxes, last illness medical bills, state taxes, recent employee wages, public assistance repayment, then everything else.

Wyo. Stat. §§ 2-7-701, 2-7-702Read the statute · wyoleg.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

State estate and inheritance tax

Wyoming has no inheritance tax, and no estate tax is due for deaths after December 31, 2004. Its estate tax law is still on the books but equals the old federal credit for state death taxes, which no longer exists. If the probate court or a bank needs proof, the Wyoming Department of Revenue issues a free certificate of no Wyoming estate tax due.

Wyo. Stat. § 39-19-103Read the statute · wyoleg.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Closing an estate

In Wyoming, the executor or administrator (called the personal representative) closes the estate by filing a sworn final report and accounting with a petition for distribution, giving notice of a court hearing to the family and beneficiaries. After the court approves it and is satisfied all taxes are paid, it enters a final decree of distribution, and once everything is handed out the representative asks to be discharged.

Wyo. Stat. §§ 2-7-811 to 2-7-814Read the statute · wyoleg.govchecked Oct 5, 2026