Wyoming living trusts & estate documents

Living trust law in Wyoming

A revocable living trust holds your home, accounts, and other property during your life, you stay in full control as trustee and can change or revoke it any time, then passes it to your beneficiaries without probate when you're gone. In Wyoming, trusts are governed by the Wyoming Uniform Trust Code, W.S. 4-10-101 et seq..

Avoiding probate in Wyoming

Probate in Wyoming is governed by the W.S. Title 2 and handled by the District Court. See state probate code for administration options.

Wyoming allows both collection by affidavit and a summary distribution procedure when the entire estate, less liens, is $400,000 or less (Wyo. Stat. §§ 2-1-201, 2-1-205). Assets held in a funded living trust pass to your beneficiaries without probate, whatever the size of the estate. Many Wyoming homeowners set one up for that reason. Wyoming also authorizes a transfer-on-death deed (Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 2-18-101 et seq.) to pass real estate outside probate. A living trust does the same for every asset, not just real estate.

In Wyoming, creditors generally have 3 months from the first published notice to creditors to file claims against the estate (Wyo. Stat. § 2-7-703), one reason court probate takes time that a funded trust avoids.

Estate and inheritance tax in Wyoming

Wyoming has no estate, inheritance, or income tax. The separate federal estate tax reaches only estates above $15 million per person (2026, adjusted yearly), so most families never owe it.

Protecting a surviving spouse in Wyoming

A surviving spouse in Wyoming who is left out of the will can instead claim an elective share of one-half (1/2) of the property subject to disposition under the will if there are no surviving issue of the decedent or the surviving spouse is also a parent of any of the surviving issue, or one-fourth (1/4) if the surviving spouse is not the parent of any surviving issue under Wyo. Stat. § 2-5-101, a protection the will itself cannot override.

Wyoming also sets aside the homestead (to the value of $30,000 under § 2-7-508) and all property exempt from execution for the surviving spouse, or if there is none the minor children, as their absolute property (Wyo. Stat. § 2-7-501), not subject to the decedent's debts except expenses of administration or funeral expenses when the estate has no other property to pay them (§ 2-7-504).

Signing your Wyoming documents

1. Sign the living trust. Executed and acknowledged before a notary.
2. Sign the will. Two witnesses; notarized self-proving affidavit included (standalone and pour-over wills).
3. Sign the power of attorney. Sign your Durable Power of Attorney before a Notary Public.
4. Sign the health care documents. Sign your Advance Health Care Directive either before a Notary Public or in the presence of two adult witnesses. The form lists who may not serve as a witness. Follow it exactly.
5. Follow your package instructions. Your package includes page-by-page signing instructions written for Wyoming. Follow those as the authoritative guide.

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