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Wyoming Executor Duties
Pillar GuideWyoming22 min read

Wyoming Executor Duties

Wyoming executor duties in order: publish and mail notice, file an inventory in 120 days, answer claims filed with the clerk, close in one year.

By Settled Editorial

Wyoming executor duties start when the district court issues your letters and follow a fixed order in Title 2 of the Wyoming Statutes. You post a bond unless it is waived, take possession of the estate, publish the notice of probate and mail copies, file a sworn inventory within 120 days, answer the claims creditors file with the clerk, pay debts in the order the statute sets, and file a final report and accounting. The statute gives you one year from appointment to finish.

Wyoming calls the office personal representative. W.S. 2-1-301(a)(xxviii) says "personal representative" includes executor and administrator. An executor is appointed for an estate with a will, and an administrator for an estate without one. Executor is the word most people search for, so this page uses it once and then says personal representative, the way the statute does. Wyoming did not adopt the Uniform Probate Code, so guides written for other states often describe steps Wyoming does not have.

A note on the links. Wyoming publishes its statutes as one PDF per title, with no page for a single section, so every statute link below opens the Title 2 PDF from the Wyoming Legislature (or the Title 39 PDF for the tax section). We read each section there on September 28, 2026. The edition was created May 8, 2026, after the 2026 budget session. Read this beside the Wyoming probate process for how the case moves through court, and the Wyoming probate timeline for the dates on one page.

Who Can Serve, and Who Goes First

Being named in the will puts you first in line. The court appointment is what gives you authority.

With a will, W.S. 2-6-208 sets the preference for letters testamentary:

  1. The person designated in the will
  2. Any beneficiary named in the will, or a person the beneficiaries nominate
  3. Any creditor of the decedent, or a person that creditor nominates
  4. Anyone else the court finds qualified

Without a will, W.S. 2-4-201(a) grants administration in this order: the surviving spouse or a competent person the spouse asks the court to appoint, the children, the father or mother, the brothers or sisters, the grandchildren, the next of kin entitled to share, the creditors, and any person legally competent. Relatives qualify only when they are entitled to inherit some of the personal estate.

One residency rule applies here. Under 2-4-201(c), a nonresident of Wyoming may be appointed administrator only if a Wyoming resident is appointed as co-administrator. That rule sits in the section on administrators. The executor section, 2-6-208, has no residency rule, so a named executor who lives out of state is not caught by it. A different rule does apply: under W.S. 2-11-301, a named executor who does not live in Wyoming must designate a Wyoming resident, bank or trust company as agent to receive court papers, or the court revokes the executor's authority to act.

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The Bond Comes Before the Letters

Wyoming starts from a bond. W.S. 2-3-102 has every person who receives letters testamentary or of administration sign a bond to the State of Wyoming before receiving them, backed by two or more individual sureties or one corporate surety. The amount can be no less than the value of the personal property plus the probable annual rents, profits and issues of the real property.

The bond can be waived. Under W.S. 2-3-111(a), letters may issue without a bond when the will expressly says no bond is required, when a statute says so, or when the distributees waive the bond in writing. Under 2-3-111(c) the court can still order a bond later if one turns out to be needed. The page on the personal representative bond covers the amount and how a waiver works.

Take Possession and Keep It in Repair

Your first practical job is control of the property. W.S. 2-7-103 says the personal representative "shall take possession of all of the estate of the decedent, real and personal, and collect all debts due the decedent or the estate."

W.S. 2-7-401 adds the rest. You are entitled to possession of the real and personal estate and to the rents and profits of the real estate until the estate is settled or the court orders delivery to the heirs or beneficiaries. You must also keep the houses, buildings and fixtures under your control in good repair. Keep a record of every rent check from the first week, because the final accounting asks for the money that came into your hands.

Publish the Notice of Probate, Then Mail It

Wyoming uses one notice for two jobs. Once the will or the intestate estate is admitted to probate and letters issue, W.S. 2-7-201 has you publish a notice once a week for three consecutive weeks in a daily or weekly newspaper of general circulation in the county where the probate is pending. The notice does three things:

  1. Announces that the will or estate was admitted to probate and names you as personal representative
  2. Tells anyone who wants to set aside the will that the action must be brought within three months of the first publication
  3. Tells creditors to file their claims in the office of the clerk of court within three months of the first publication, or be forever barred

Publication is only half of it. W.S. 2-7-205(a) has you mail a true copy of the notice, first class, to:

  • The surviving spouse, every heir at law and every beneficiary named in the will, no later than one week after the first publication
  • Each creditor whose identity you can reasonably ascertain within the claim period, no later than 30 days before the three months run out
  • The state Department of Health, if the decedent received medical assistance under W.S. 42-4-101 through 42-4-114
  • The Department of Family Services, if the decedent or any known heir is the obligor on a child support order the department enforces

The creditor mailing is the one that matters most for you. The notice to creditors page explains what happens to a creditor you should have found and did not mail.

The Inventory: 120 Days, Under Oath

The inventory is the deadline with a penalty attached. W.S. 2-7-403(a) has every personal representative return to the court, within 120 days after appointment, a true inventory under oath of all the estate, including the homestead, that has come to their possession or knowledge.

Missing it has a cost. If the inventory is late you must show the court good cause, and the court decides whether to allow more time. For failure to comply in good faith, the statute says the personal representative "shall be adjudged in contempt of court," with a fine and other enforcement at the court's discretion. The fine is paid into the estate.

One case moves the date up. Under 2-7-403(b), when the surviving spouse's elective share under W.S. 2-5-101 applies, the inventory is due no more than 75 days after the will is admitted to probate.

The inventory value also sets a filing charge. Under W.S. 2-2-401(a)(ii), the clerk of district court collects 5 dollars when the inventory shows an estate worth 5,000 to 10,000 dollars, and 5 dollars more for each additional 10,000 dollars of value or part of it.

Claims Go to the Clerk, and You Answer Each One

Wyoming creditors file with the court, not with you. W.S. 2-7-703(a) says all claims, whether due, not due or contingent, "shall be filed in duplicate with the clerk" within the time in the notice, and a claim not filed is barred forever. A creditor you mailed under 2-7-205(a)(ii) has until the later of three months after first publication or 30 days after your mailing. Under 2-7-703(b) the clerk sends you one copy of each claim as it is filed.

Here is what you do with them:

  1. Check the support. Under W.S. 2-7-704, a claim that is due carries the claimant's affidavit that the account is justly due, and a claim on a note or other instrument carries a copy. You may demand vouchers and the original instrument.
  2. Allow or reject in writing. W.S. 2-7-712 has you file your written allowance or rejection with the clerk within 30 days after the claim period ends. An allowed claim ranks among the debts to be paid in due course.
  3. Tell a rejected claimant. Under 2-7-712(d), when you reject all or part of a claim you must notify the claimant by certified mail immediately.

Small bills get a shortcut. Under 2-7-703(d) you may allow a claim of 200 dollars or less without the creditor filing it, but you answer for that decision at the hearing on your final report and accounting.

Two groups escape the bar under 2-7-703(c): a claimant the court finds entitled to equitable relief because of peculiar circumstances, and a creditor you did not mail whose identity the court finds you could reasonably have ascertained. That second group is why the creditor mailing deserves care.

When the Money Runs Short

This list matters only when the estate is short. When the assets are or appear to be insufficient, W.S. 2-7-701 has you classify the debts and charges in this order:

  1. Court costs
  2. Other costs of administration
  3. Reasonable funeral and burial expenses
  4. Allowances under W.S. 2-7-503 and 2-7-504
  5. Debts and taxes with preference under federal law
  6. Reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the last illness
  7. Taxes with preference under Wyoming law
  8. Wages owed to employees for labor in the 90 days before death
  9. Claims allowed under W.S. 2-7-707
  10. All other allowed claims

W.S. 2-7-702 has you pay each class in full before the next, with no preference inside a class. If a class cannot be paid in full, its claims share pro rata. The page on the order debts are paid walks through each class.

Selling Estate Property

Title 2, chapter 7, article 6 sets your sale power. Under W.S. 2-7-612(a), you may sell, mortgage, pledge, lease or exchange the decedent's real or personal property, other than exempt personal property and the homestead, to pay debts and charges, to distribute the estate, or for any other purpose in the estate's best interests. Exempt personal property can be sold only if the surviving spouse or issue consents, and the proceeds of exempt property or the homestead stay subject to their rights unless they expressly waive them.

Some sales need no order. W.S. 2-7-613 lets you sell perishable personal property, and personal property with a regularly established market, without a court order. For other sales, W.S. 2-7-614 and 2-7-615 have you file a petition giving the reasons, and the court sets a hearing with notice under 2-7-205. The court may hear a petition about personal property, or a lease of up to one year on real property the will does not leave as a specific gift, without notice.

Notice periods apply either way. Under 2-7-205(b), notice of a sale hearing goes out at least 10 days before, to the spouse and the heirs or will beneficiaries, unless they waive it in writing. Under 2-7-205(c), a sale of real property that does not need a court order still needs notice mailed or delivered to them at least 10 days before the sale. The guide to selling estate real estate covers the steps after that.

The One-Year Rule

Wyoming tells its courts to move estates along. W.S. 2-7-801(a) states a policy that administration be completed "as rapidly as possible" consistent with protecting creditors, taxing authorities and distributees. Under 2-7-801(b), the clerk keeps a calendar for every estate and brings any missed deadline to the court's attention.

The limit itself is in 2-7-801(c): administration "shall be completed within one (1) year from the date of appointment" unless you file a verified report showing good cause and the court enters an order approving a continuance. If you miss it, the court may cite you for contempt, remove and replace you, or use any other remedy it considers appropriate.

Interim reports fill the gap. Under W.S. 2-7-806, you may file a verified interim report and accounting at any time. If the final report is not filed within one year of your appointment, an interim report is required at the one-year mark and every year after. An interim report binds creditors and distributees only if the court sets it for hearing with at least 20 days' notice by certified mail.

What a Wyoming Personal Representative Gets Paid

Wyoming sets a schedule. W.S. 2-7-803(a) has the court allow fees for ordinary services, unless you waive them in writing, computed on the probate estate accounted for:

Part of the estateRate
First 1,000 dollars10%
Over 1,000 up to 5,000 dollars5%
Over 5,000 up to 20,000 dollars3%
Over 20,000 dollars2%

Let's break it down with a 300,000 dollar estate: 100 dollars on the first 1,000, 200 dollars on the next 4,000, 450 dollars on the next 15,000, and 5,600 dollars on the remaining 280,000, for 6,350 dollars. Under 2-7-803(c), the basis is the inventory value, adjusted for gains or losses on sale or reappraisal and for accretions such as interest and dividends. The court may allow more for unusual circumstances under 2-7-803(a), and for extraordinary services such as tax work and litigation under 2-7-803(b).

The estate's attorney has the same schedule. W.S. 2-7-804 applies the same percentages to the attorney's ordinary fee, and 2-7-804(d) lets you and the attorney negotiate a lower one.

Payment needs a court order. Under W.S. 2-7-805, no fee is paid to you or the attorney without one. You apply in a written, verified application, with an itemization for expenses and for extraordinary services. The estate pays one total ordinary fee, split among co-personal representatives by agreement or as the court decides. If you also serve as the estate's attorney, or a partner or employee of your firm does, 2-7-805(c) allows no ordinary personal representative fee at all.

The Wyoming executor compensation calculator runs the 2-7-803 schedule on the figure you enter.

Taxes Before the Decree

The court checks taxes before it closes the estate. W.S. 2-7-812(a) requires proof, by receipts, cancelled checks, certificates, closing letters and similar records, that all federal, state, county and municipal taxes on the estate's property or owed because of the death are paid. The court will not discharge you, release your bond or enter a decree of distribution until all inheritance and estate taxes are paid or the court finds none is chargeable.

Wyoming's own estate tax rarely produces a bill. W.S. 39-19-103 still imposes a tax equal to the federal state death tax credit, but federal law repealed that credit, 26 U.S.C. 2011, in 2014. The federal return is a separate question, covered under estate tax filings.

Closing: Final Report, Decree, Discharge

When the estate is ready to close, W.S. 2-7-811(a) has you file with the clerk of court, under oath, a final report and accounting and petition for distribution. Under 2-7-811(b) it lists:

  • Each parcel of real estate the decedent owned that you have not sold
  • Whether the decedent left a will
  • The surviving spouse, or that none survived, and each heir or devisee with residence and relationship
  • Any legacy or devise still charged on the real estate
  • Any distributee under a legal disability, and any conservator or trustee for a distributee
  • An accounting of the money and personal property you received, unless every interested party waives it
  • Whether you met every tax requirement, including 2-7-812(a)
  • Your proposed distribution

The court sets it for hearing. Under 2-7-811(c) you serve a copy with a notice of hearing as 2-7-204 and 2-7-205 require. W.S. 2-7-204(a) says this notice can go out no sooner than three months after the first publication of the notice of probate. Objections are filed in writing, in duplicate, with the clerk, and at the hearing you carry the burden of proof on any issue raised. The guide to the final report and accounting shows how to build the accounting.

Then the estate closes. Under W.S. 2-7-813, once the court approves the report, it enters a final decree of distribution naming who takes what, and you make the distributions "forthwith." Under W.S. 2-7-814, after you show proof that you paid what you owed and delivered the property as ordered, you petition for discharge, and the court discharges you and your surety from further liability.

Resigning, or Being Replaced

W.S. 2-3-125 lets you resign by a writing filed in the district court, but only after you settle your accounts and deliver the estate to the person appointed to receive it. The same section lets the court revoke your letters and appoint someone else when delay or any other cause puts the estate or the people interested in it at risk. Discharge ends your liability for later acts, not for anything that happened on your bond before it.

Common Questions

What are the duties of an executor in Wyoming?

Wyoming calls the job personal representative. Under Title 2 you post a bond unless it is waived (W.S. 2-3-102, 2-3-111), take possession of the estate (2-7-103, 2-7-401), publish the notice of probate for three weeks and mail copies to the family, known creditors and, where they apply, the Department of Health and the Department of Family Services (2-7-201, 2-7-205), file a sworn inventory within 120 days (2-7-403), allow or reject the claims creditors file with the clerk (2-7-703, 2-7-712), pay debts in the 2-7-701 order if the estate is short, and file a final report and accounting with a petition for distribution (2-7-811). The whole job has to finish within one year of appointment unless the court approves more time (2-7-801(c)).

Is an executor the same as a personal representative in Wyoming?

Yes. W.S. 2-1-301(a)(xxviii) says personal representative includes executor and administrator. An executor is the person the court appoints to handle an estate with a will (2-1-301(a)(xv)); an administrator handles an estate with no will (2-1-301(a)(i)). The duties in Title 2, chapter 7 apply to both.

When is the Wyoming probate inventory due?

Within 120 days after your appointment. W.S. 2-7-403(a) has every personal representative return a true inventory under oath of all the estate, homestead included, that has come to their possession or knowledge. If you miss it you must show the court good cause, and a failure to comply in good faith means contempt and a fine paid into the estate. When the spouse's elective share under 2-5-101 applies, 2-7-403(b) moves the deadline to 75 days after the will is admitted.

Where do creditors file claims against a Wyoming estate?

With the clerk of the district court, in duplicate, within three months after the first publication of the notice of probate (W.S. 2-7-201, 2-7-703(a)). A creditor you mailed notice to has until the later of that date or 30 days after the mailing. The clerk sends you a copy of each claim, and 2-7-712 has you allow or reject each one in writing, filed with the clerk, within 30 days after the claim period ends.

Does a Wyoming personal representative need a bond?

Yes, unless it is waived. W.S. 2-3-102 requires a bond before letters issue, in an amount at least equal to the personal property plus a year's probable rents and profits from the real property. Under 2-3-111(a) no bond is needed when the will or a statute says so, or when the distributees waive it in writing. The court can still require one later under 2-3-111(c).

How much does a Wyoming personal representative get paid?

W.S. 2-7-803(a) sets a schedule on the probate estate accounted for: 10% of the first 1,000 dollars, 5% from 1,000 to 5,000 dollars, 3% from 5,000 to 20,000 dollars, and 2% of everything over 20,000 dollars. A 300,000 dollar estate works out to 6,350 dollars. The court may add fees for unusual circumstances and for extraordinary services such as tax work and litigation. Under 2-7-805 nothing is paid without a court order, and a person who serves as both personal representative and estate attorney gets no ordinary personal representative fee.

How long does a Wyoming personal representative have to close the estate?

One year from appointment. W.S. 2-7-801(c) says administration shall be completed within one year unless you file a verified report showing good cause and the court enters an order approving a continuance. The clerk keeps a calendar of deadlines under 2-7-801(b), and the court may respond to a missed deadline with contempt, removal and replacement, or any other remedy it considers appropriate.

This guide is general information about Wyoming estates. Confirm anything that affects your own matter with the clerk of district court handling the estate, the current text of the statute, or a licensed Wyoming attorney.

Sources:

It is not legal advice.

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Settled Estate is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.

Information current as of September 28, 2026

Settled Estate is not a law firm, and this content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Probate laws and procedures in Wyoming can change. Consult with a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. Full disclaimer.

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