First Steps After a Death in Wyoming

A physician, or the hospice team if the death was expected under hospice care, pronounces the death; if it was unexpected, call 911. Then choose a funeral home or cremation provider. The funeral director, or the person acting in that role who first takes custody of the body, files the death certificate with the local registrar of the district where the death occurred within three days after the death and before the body leaves the state, gathering the personal facts from the next of kin and the medical certification from the person responsible for it (W.S. 35-1-418(a), (b)).

Lock the house, keep utilities and property insurance paid, and do not divide belongings yet. Title to the decedent's property passes to the will beneficiaries, or to the heirs without a will, but all of it stays subject to the possession of the personal representative and the control of the court for administration and payment of debts (W.S. 2-7-402). Wyoming makes it a crime, punishable by up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $500, or both, to administer the personal estate without proving the will or taking out letters of administration, except under the small-estate affidavit (W.S. 2-7-102).

Look for the original signed will and codicils, any separate written list of personal belongings the will refers to (W.S. 2-6-124), trust documents, deeds, vehicle titles, account statements and life insurance policies. Whoever has custody of the will must deliver it to the clerk of the district court having jurisdiction of the estate, or to the executor named in it, within 10 days after learning of the death, and is responsible for the damage a failure causes (W.S. 2-6-119). When the clerk receives a will, the clerk notifies the named executor and the beneficiaries who can readily be found (W.S. 2-6-120).

Wyoming is a closed-record state. The Department of Health's Vital Statistics Services issues a death certificate only to an immediate family member (parent, spouse, child over 18), a lawyer for the family, or an entity such as a bank, executor or insurer that needs it to pay a policy or benefit; anyone else must wait 50 years. The department's 2026 application lists $25 for the first certified copy and $20 for each additional copy in the same request. Order online, by mail, or in person at 2300 Capitol Avenue, Hathaway Building, Cheyenne (Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; (307) 777-7591). Fees are set by department rule and include statutory surcharges (W.S. 35-1-428). Order several copies: banks, insurers, the county clerk and the court may each want one.

Wyoming has no separate probate court. The district courts have exclusive original jurisdiction of probate (W.S. 2-2-101), and the right county is the one where the decedent lived at death, wherever the death happened (W.S. 2-2-102(a)(i)); for a nonresident, a county where the decedent died leaving property or where any of the estate is. You file with the CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT of that county. The 23 counties are grouped into 9 judicial districts (W.S. 5-3-101), but the district is never the venue, and the circuit courts do not hear probate. The Judicial Branch's Find a Court page lists each county clerk of district court's address and phone.

Separate property in the decedent's sole name from property that passes by contract or title. A payable-on-death account is paid to the surviving P.O.D. payee on proof of death (W.S. 2-1-203(d)); a security registered in transfer-on-death form passes to the surviving beneficiary (W.S. 2-16-108); a transfer on death deed executed and recorded with the county clerk BEFORE the death passes the land to the grantee beneficiary (W.S. 2-18-103(e)); and a vehicle whose owners recorded a beneficiary designation form with the county clerk passes to the beneficiary (W.S. 31-2-104.1). Joint tenancy with right of survivorship and a life estate end at death and are cleared by a recorded affidavit of survivorship (W.S. 2-9-102). Whatever is left in the sole name is the probate estate, and that list decides your route.

W.S. 2-1-201 lets the distributees collect money owed to the decedent, tangible personal property, securities and vehicles by affidavit, with no court case, once 30 days have passed since the death, no application for appointment of a personal representative is pending or granted in Wyoming, and the value of the entire estate located in Wyoming subject to administration, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $400,000. The figure rose from $200,000 effective July 1, 2025 (Laws 2025, ch. 168). Real property in Wyoming COUNTS toward the $400,000, yet the affidavit cannot pass it. The affidavit is signed before a notary and recorded with the COUNTY CLERK in the county where the decedent died or where property is located; the clerk's statutory charge for recording any instrument is $12 for the first page and $3 for each additional page (W.S. 18-3-402(a)(xvi)(A)). The Judicial Branch publishes the PPP 01 to PPP 05 forms for free.

Real property and mineral interests in a small estate pass by a court decree, not by the affidavit. At least 30 days after the death, the distributees file a sworn application in the DISTRICT COURT with a sworn report of value (a broker's price opinion is allowed), publish notice once a week for two consecutive weeks, mail it within 10 days of first publication, and send a copy to the Department of Health within 10 days if the decedent received Medicaid. With no timely objection the court enters a decree, which is recorded with the county clerk where the land lies and is presumptive evidence of title (W.S. 2-1-205). The same $400,000 ceiling applies, including personal property. The Judicial Branch packet is PRP 01 to PRP 18.

Wyoming vehicle titles are issued by the county clerk, not a state counter. If the owners recorded a beneficiary designation form (WYDOT form MV-308) with the county clerk before the death, the beneficiary presents it with a certified death certificate and the $15 title fee, and the clerk issues a new title subject to any liens (W.S. 31-2-104.1; W.S. 31-3-102(a)(vii)). A will cannot override that designation. A surviving joint owner named with right of survivorship applies to a county clerk with a certified death certificate (W.S. 31-2-104). Otherwise the county clerk transfers title on the small-estate affidavit (W.S. 2-1-201(d)), or the personal representative transfers it during probate.

For an estate that does not fit a small-estate route, the person named in the will petitions the district court for probate and letters testamentary; without a will, a person entitled under W.S. 2-4-201 petitions for letters of administration. The named executor has 30 days after learning of the death and the nomination to petition, or may be held to have renounced the right to serve unless the delay is excused (W.S. 2-6-202). The court or the clerk may hear a will petition at once, with or without notice, and admit the will on proof of due execution (W.S. 2-6-203). The clerk of district court collects $160 to open: a $110 filing fee plus a $40 court automation fee and a $10 indigent civil legal services fee (W.S. 2-2-401(a)). Self-represented filers cannot eFile in district court, so plan to file on paper.

Without a will, letters of administration go in this order: the surviving spouse or a competent person the spouse asks for; the children; the father or mother; the brothers or sisters; the grandchildren; the next of kin entitled to share; the creditors; then any competent person (W.S. 2-4-201(a)). A nonresident of Wyoming may be appointed administrator only if a Wyoming resident is appointed co-administrator (W.S. 2-4-201(c)). A bond is required before letters issue (W.S. 2-3-102) unless the will or a statute waives it or the distributees waive it in writing, and the court can still require one later (W.S. 2-3-111).

On issuance of letters the personal representative publishes a notice once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. It tells creditors to file claims with the clerk of court within three months of the first publication or be forever barred, and warns that any action to set aside the will must be brought within the same three months (W.S. 2-7-201). Within one week after the first publication, mail a copy to the surviving spouse, the heirs and the will beneficiaries; mail each reasonably ascertainable creditor at least 30 days before the three months end; and mail the Department of Health if the decedent received Medicaid (W.S. 2-7-205). Get an EIN from the IRS and open an estate account before paying anything.

The personal representative returns to the court a true inventory, under oath, of all the estate including any homestead within 120 days after appointment, or within 75 days after the will is admitted when the surviving spouse's elective share applies. A late filer must show good cause, and failing to comply in good faith is contempt, with a fine paid into the estate (W.S. 2-7-403). When the inventory shows an estate of $5,000 or more, the clerk adds a value-based fee: $5 for $5,000 to $10,000 and $5 for each additional $10,000 or portion (W.S. 2-2-401(a)(ii)).

Creditors file claims in duplicate with the clerk of court, not with you, within three months of the first publication; a creditor you mailed has until the later of those three months or 30 days after the mailing (W.S. 2-7-703(a)). You may allow a claim of $200 or less without a filing (W.S. 2-7-703(d)). Allow or reject each filed claim in writing within 30 days after the claim period ends (W.S. 2-7-712); a rejected claimant must sue within 30 days after the certified-mail notice or the claim is barred (W.S. 2-7-718). If the estate cannot pay everyone, W.S. 2-7-701 pays court costs, then other administration costs, then funeral and burial expenses, then the family allowances, then federal preferred debts and taxes, then last-illness medical expenses, then state preferred taxes, then wages for the last 90 days, then public assistance claims, then everything else.

Tell the Social Security Administration about the death and file the decedent's final federal income tax return. Wyoming levies no state income tax (W.S. 39-12-101 bars local income taxes and Title 39 imposes none), and its estate tax statute (W.S. 39-19-103) equals a federal state-death-tax credit that no longer exists, so it produces no liability. The court still will not enter a final decree of distribution until it is satisfied that all taxes are paid or that no estate tax is chargeable (W.S. 2-7-812). A federal Form 706 is due only for the largest estates.

Wyoming expects administration to be completed within one year of the personal representative's appointment unless a verified report shows good cause and the court orders a continuance; the clerk keeps a calendar and reports missed deadlines to the court (W.S. 2-7-801). If the final report is not filed within that year, a verified interim report and accounting is due at the one-year mark and every year after until the estate closes (W.S. 2-7-806(b)).

When the estate is ready, the personal representative files under oath a final report and accounting and petition for distribution, which is set for hearing and served on the heirs, beneficiaries and creditors (W.S. 2-7-811); notice of the final account cannot be given until at least three months after the first publication (W.S. 2-7-204(a)). After approval the court enters a final decree of distribution naming who receives what (W.S. 2-7-813). Once everything is paid and delivered, the personal representative petitions for a decree of discharge, which also releases any bond (W.S. 2-7-814).

Wyoming sets the ordinary fee of both the personal representative and the estate's attorney by the same schedule on the probate estate accounted for: 10% of the first $1,000, 5% from $1,000 to $5,000, 3% from $5,000 to $20,000 and 2% of everything over $20,000 (W.S. 2-7-803, 2-7-804). The court may allow more for unusual circumstances or extraordinary services. No fee is paid without a court order, and a person who is both personal representative and attorney gets no ordinary personal representative fee (W.S. 2-7-805).