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How to Avoid Probate in Wyoming
Pillar GuideWyoming21 min read

How to Avoid Probate in Wyoming

How to avoid probate in Wyoming: a recorded transfer on death deed, the vehicle TOD form, joint tenancy, POD and TOD accounts, and trusts.

By Settled Editorial

In Wyoming, an asset skips probate when a recorded deed, a title, an account form, or a trust already says who takes it. That covers land under a recorded transfer on death deed, land and vehicles held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, payable on death bank accounts, securities registered in transfer on death form, retirement plans and life insurance with a living beneficiary, a vehicle with a recorded beneficiary designation form, and anything already titled to a revocable living trust.

Everything else goes to the district court. W.S. 2-2-101 gives the district courts exclusive original jurisdiction over the probate of wills and the settlement and distribution of estates, so property that passes only under a will still passes through that court. Here is each Wyoming tool, the step that makes it work, and the catch that comes with it.

Start With What Wyoming Probate Costs

Wyoming is one of the few states that prints a percentage fee schedule in its probate code, and that schedule is the plainest case for planning ahead.

  • The personal representative's fee. W.S. 2-7-803(a) has the court allow the personal representative 10% of the first $1,000 of the probate estate accounted for, 5% of the next $4,000, 3% of the next $15,000, and 2% of everything over $20,000, unless the personal representative files a written waiver.
  • The estate attorney's fee. W.S. 2-7-804(a) sets the same four tiers for the attorney for the estate, again unless the attorney waives in writing.
  • Extras on top. Subsection (b) of each section lets the court add just and reasonable fees for extraordinary services, such as tax work or litigation.

Here is the math on a $300,000 probate estate: $100, plus $200, plus $450, plus $5,600, for $6,350 under each schedule, or $12,700 if neither the personal representative nor the attorney waives. The basis is the probate estate the personal representative accounts for, measured at inventory value under 2-7-803(c) and 2-7-804(c). W.S. 2-7-804(d) lets the personal representative and the attorney negotiate lower fees, but the schedule is the starting point. An asset that passes by one of the tools below never enters that basis. Opening a probate also costs $160 at the Clerk of District Court under W.S. 2-2-401(a).

Wyoming charges no estate or inheritance tax that produces a bill. Its estate tax statute, W.S. 39-19-103, is tied to a federal credit that no longer exists. So the case for avoidance rests on those fees, on time, on privacy, and on land in other states.

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The Transfer On Death Deed For Land

The house or the ranch is the asset that sends most Wyoming families to the district court, and Wyoming has a direct answer. The Nontestamentary Transfer of Real Property on Death Act, W.S. 2-18-101 to 2-18-106, took effect July 1, 2013, under 2013 House Bill 201. It is Wyoming's own statute, not the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act that Montana and Utah use, and several of its rules differ.

  • Record it before death. W.S. 2-18-103(e) says the deed is valid only if executed and recorded in the office of the county clerk in the county where the land sits, before the death of the owner or the last surviving owner. An unrecorded deed does nothing.
  • Use the statutory form. W.S. 2-18-104 prints it, and it makes you choose what happens if a beneficiary dies first: that gift becomes void, or it becomes part of the beneficiary's estate. Pick one on purpose. W.S. 2-18-103(c) also lets you name a successor beneficiary, if the deed states the condition on which that person's interest vests.
  • The beneficiary signs nothing. Under 2-18-103(k), no signature, consent, or notice from a beneficiary is needed while you live.
  • A will cannot undo it. W.S. 2-18-103(m) says a recorded transfer on death deed is not revoked by a will. To change it, record a revocation under 2-18-103(f), using the 2-18-105 form, or record a later deed. The last deed recorded before death wins under 2-18-103(h).
  • It can name your trust. W.S. 2-18-103(e) allows a transfer on death deed to the trustee of a trust, even a revocable one.
  • Debts and mortgages ride along. Under 2-18-103(a), the beneficiary takes subject to every mortgage, lien, and encumbrance you made or were subject to.

The step that surprises families comes after the death. W.S. 2-18-103(n) makes proof of death and transfer exclusive: the beneficiary records, with the county clerk, an affidavit under W.S. 34-11-101 identifying the deed by book and page or document number, plus a certificate of clearance issued by the Wyoming Department of Health certifying that all medical assistance claims have been satisfied or do not exist. Build time for that certificate into the handoff. Since July 1, 2023, 2-18-103(o) also carries the owner's property insurance over to the beneficiary for up to 60 days after the death.

Execution, revocation, and the clearance step are walked through on the Wyoming transfer on death deed page.

Joint Tenancy And The Affidavit Of Survivorship

Land held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship passes to the surviving owner at death. The work is clearing the record, and Wyoming gives two ways to do it.

  • The affidavit. W.S. 2-9-102 lets any person interested in the property record, with the county clerk of the county where it sits, an affidavit describing the property and the deed that created the joint tenancy and swearing to the death. It must have a certified copy of the official death certificate attached.
  • The court decree. W.S. 2-9-101 lets an interested person file a verified petition in the district court of the county where the property sits. After two weeks of published notice, the court decrees that the estate remains vested in the survivor, and the certified decree is recorded with the county clerk.

Both sections also cover a life estate that ends at death and an estate by the entireties.

A transfer on death deed and joint tenancy interact. Under 2-18-103(d), a transfer on death deed on joint tenancy land works only if the last surviving owner signed it, and a surviving joint tenant's rights prevail over the deed's beneficiary.

Joint tenancy costs nothing to create. It also hands the co-owner present ownership, exposes the property to that person's creditors, and cuts out anyone you did not name. And a divorce changes it on its own: W.S. 2-6-125(b)(ii) severs a former spouse's survivorship interest and turns it into a tenancy in common.

Payable On Death Bank Accounts

A payable on death (P.O.D.) account names who receives the balance when the last owner dies. W.S. 2-1-203(d) lets the bank or credit union pay the P.O.D. payee, or split the balance equally among several payees, on proof of death showing they survived every original owner.

  • The payee has no rights while you live. Under 2-1-203(d), a person named as a P.O.D. payee has no enforceable rights in the account during the owner's lifetime.
  • Survivorship accounts work the same way. W.S. 2-1-203(b) lets a joint deposit payable to the survivor be paid under the deposit contract.
  • A dead payee sends it back to the estate. If no P.O.D. payee survives, 2-1-203(d) lets the bank pay the personal representative or heirs of the last owner.

Ask the bank how each account is titled, and name a backup payee wherever the bank allows one.

Securities Registered In Transfer On Death Form

Wyoming adopted the Uniform TOD Security Registration Act at W.S. 2-16-101 to 2-16-112. A brokerage account or security registered in beneficiary form, shown by "TOD" or "POD" after the owner's name under 2-16-106, passes under 2-16-108 to the beneficiaries who survive all owners.

  • Only sole owners or survivorship owners qualify. W.S. 2-16-103 shuts out tenants in common.
  • You keep control. Under 2-16-107, the designation has no effect on ownership until death, and the owner can cancel or change it without the beneficiary's consent.
  • No surviving beneficiary means probate. W.S. 2-16-108 sends the security to the estate of the last owner to die.
  • Creditors keep their rights. W.S. 2-16-110(b) says the act does not limit creditors' rights against beneficiaries under other Wyoming law.

Retirement Accounts And Life Insurance

A 401(k), IRA, pension, or life insurance policy pays the beneficiary named on the form the plan or insurer holds, so the will does not reach it. This is where Wyoming families land in probate by accident. A blank form, a stale form, or a beneficiary who died first can drop the money into the estate.

Review every designation after a marriage, a birth, a death, or a divorce. W.S. 2-6-125(b)(i) revokes a revocable gift to a former spouse, and to that spouse's relatives, when a divorce or annulment becomes final, unless the instrument, a court order, or a property settlement says otherwise. Federal law can override state law for employer plans, so ask the plan administrator to confirm who it will pay.

Vehicles: The New Transfer On Death Form

Until mid-2025, a Wyoming vehicle titled in one name had no beneficiary option. 2025 Senate File 39 (Session Laws 2025, chapter 73) changed that on July 1, 2025 by creating W.S. 31-2-104.1. Any source written before then says Wyoming has no vehicle transfer on death.

  • The form. Under 31-2-104.1(a), each county clerk makes available a beneficiary designation form that lists the vehicle's make, model, year, and VIN, the name of every owner, the words "transfer on death to" followed by the beneficiary, and the notarized signature of all owners. The Wyoming Department of Transportation publishes it as form MV-308.
  • Record it. W.S. 31-2-104.1(b) requires the form to be recorded in the office of the county clerk in the county where the vehicle is titled.
  • After the death. Under 31-2-104.1(c) and (d), the beneficiary presents the recorded form, a certified copy of the death certificate, and the title fee to the county clerk, who issues a new title subject to any liens. The certificate of title fee is $15 under W.S. 31-3-102(a)(vii).
  • Change it by paperwork, not by will. W.S. 31-2-104.1(g) lets owners change the beneficiary with a new form or by selling the vehicle, and 31-2-104.1(j) says a will cannot change or revoke the designation.
  • It stays out of probate. W.S. 31-2-104.1(k) makes the transfer a nonprobate transfer under the Wyoming Probate Code.

Joint owners are a separate arrangement. When the title clearly states joint tenants with right of survivorship, W.S. 31-2-104(j) lets the survivor apply to a county clerk for a new title with a certified death certificate, and no sales or use tax is due. The steps and the form are on the vehicle transfer on death form page.

The Revocable Living Trust

A revocable living trust holds assets while you live and hands them to your beneficiaries at death with no court case. Wyoming's trust law is the Uniform Trust Code, Title 4, chapter 10, and the revocable-trust rules sit at W.S. 4-10-601 to 4-10-604.

  • Revocable unless it says otherwise. Under 4-10-602(a), the settlor may revoke or amend a trust unless its terms expressly make it irrevocable.
  • How to change it. W.S. 4-10-602(c) allows revocation or amendment by following, in substance, a method the trust names or, where the trust names none or the named method is not exclusive, by a signed writing, the settlor's will, or any other method showing clear and convincing evidence of intent.
  • Your agent needs express authority. Under 4-10-602(e), an agent under a power of attorney can revoke, amend, or distribute only as far as the trust or the power expressly allows.
  • You control it while you live. W.S. 4-10-603(a) owes the trustee's duties exclusively to the settlor while the trust is revocable and the settlor has capacity.
  • A short clock on challenges. W.S. 4-10-604(a) bars a contest unless it starts within the earlier of two years after the settlor's death or 120 days after the trustee sends the person a copy of the trust and a notice of its existence, the trustee's name and address, and the deadline.

A trust avoids probate only for assets you retitle into it. An unfunded trust avoids nothing. For land, a transfer on death deed to the trustee under 2-18-103(e) is one way to fund it at death. For setup and funding, read a revocable living trust in Wyoming.

What Does Not Avoid Probate

Two beliefs cost Wyoming families the most.

The first is that a will keeps you out of court. It does not. A will names who inherits and who serves, and the district court still admits it and supervises the transfer under W.S. 2-2-101.

The second is that the small-estate routes are a planning tool. They are a shortcut after a death, with limits. W.S. 2-1-201 lets a distributee collect money, personal property, and instruments by affidavit 30 days after the death when the entire Wyoming estate subject to administration, less liens and encumbrances, is $400,000 or less and no personal representative has been applied for or appointed in Wyoming. That ceiling was $200,000 until 2025 Senate File 104 raised it on July 1, 2025. The measure counts land, and the affidavit cannot pass land: real property needs the W.S. 2-1-205 application to the district court, two weeks of published notice, and a decree of summary distribution. Assets that pass by the tools above stay out of the measure. The details are on the $400,000 small estate routes page.

Probate avoidance is also only one part of a plan. The will, powers of attorney, and health care directive are covered on Wyoming estate planning basics, and email, cloud storage, and social media accounts follow their own statute, covered on online accounts and digital assets.

Where Wyoming Pulls Nonprobate Property Back

No tool on this page is absolute. The biggest claw-back is Medicaid estate recovery.

W.S. 42-4-206(a) has the Department of Health file a claim for medical assistance paid when the person was 55 or older, or while an inpatient in a nursing facility or other medical care setting. The claim counts as an expense of the last illness, and 42-4-206(b) says no statute of limitations applies to it. Three rules decide how far it reaches:

  • Nonprobate assets count. W.S. 42-4-206(g)(ii) defines the estate to include assets conveyed to a survivor, heir, or assign through joint tenancy, tenancy in common, survivorship, life estate, living trust, or other arrangement.
  • The transfer on death deed can carry a lien. W.S. 2-18-103(g) lets the Department of Health assert a lien against land conveyed by a transfer on death deed for the amount it could have recovered from the owner's estate, and the 2-18-103(n) certificate of clearance is how the title gets cleared.
  • Some families are protected. The claim is filed at the death of a single recipient or the death of the surviving spouse, under 42-4-206(a), and 42-4-206(d) bars a claim while a child under 21, or a blind or permanently and totally disabled child, survives. W.S. 42-4-206(f) provides an undue-hardship waiver.

Anyone who has received or may need Medicaid long-term care should speak with a Wyoming elder law attorney before retitling anything.

A Wyoming Checklist

  1. Record a transfer on death deed for Wyoming land with the county clerk where it sits, and choose on the form what happens if a beneficiary dies first. (2-18-103(e), 2-18-104.)
  2. Pull every jointly owned deed and title, confirm it says joint tenancy with right of survivorship, and keep a certified death certificate plan for the 2-9-102 affidavit. (2-9-102, 31-2-104(j).)
  3. Add or refresh P.O.D. payees on every bank and credit union account. (2-1-203(d).)
  4. Register brokerage accounts in TOD form and name a contingent beneficiary. (2-16-103, 2-16-108.)
  5. Review beneficiary designations on retirement plans and life insurance after every family change, and after any divorce. (2-6-125.)
  6. Record form MV-308 with the county clerk for each vehicle titled in one name. (31-2-104.1.)
  7. Fund a revocable living trust where privacy, land in another state, or control over distributions justifies the setup. (4-10-602.)
  8. Keep the will consistent with every form, remembering that a recorded deed and a recorded vehicle form both beat the will. (2-18-103(m), 31-2-104.1(j).)

When To Call A Wyoming Attorney

Most of this list is paperwork you can handle with the bank, the broker, and the county clerk. Call a licensed Wyoming attorney when:

  • Medicaid long-term care is on the table, because 42-4-206(g)(ii) reaches almost every tool here
  • the land or mineral interests sit in more than one state or more than one Wyoming county
  • a blended family means the deeds, the forms, and the will point at different people
  • a trust already exists and nobody can say which assets were ever retitled into it
  • someone has already died and the family is choosing between the small-estate routes and a full probate

Confirm anything that affects a particular property with the county clerk where it sits, the Clerk of District Court handling the estate, or a licensed Wyoming attorney before you sign or record.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Wyoming have a transfer on death deed for real estate?

Yes. Title 2, chapter 18 of the Wyoming Statutes, the Nontestamentary Transfer of Real Property on Death Act (W.S. 2-18-101 to 2-18-106), took effect July 1, 2013. Under W.S. 2-18-103(e) the deed is valid only if it is executed and recorded in the office of the county clerk in the county where the land sits before the owner dies. W.S. 2-18-104 prints the form. This is Wyoming's own act, not the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act.

Can a Wyoming vehicle pass to a beneficiary without probate?

Yes, since July 1, 2025. W.S. 31-2-104.1, created by 2025 Senate File 39 (Session Laws 2025, chapter 73), has each county clerk make available a beneficiary designation form carrying the vehicle details, every owner's name, the words transfer on death to followed by the beneficiary, and the notarized signature of all owners. The form is recorded with the county clerk where the vehicle is titled. WYDOT publishes it as form MV-308. After the death, the beneficiary brings the recorded form, a certified death certificate, and the title fee to the county clerk.

How does a surviving joint tenant clear title to Wyoming land?

By recording an affidavit of survivorship. W.S. 2-9-102 lets any person interested in the property record, with the county clerk of the county where the land sits, an affidavit that describes the property and the vesting deed and swears to the death. A certified copy of the official death certificate must be attached. W.S. 2-9-101 offers a district court decree instead, after two weeks of published notice.

Does a Wyoming will avoid probate?

No. A will names who inherits and who serves as executor, and W.S. 2-2-101 gives the district court exclusive original jurisdiction over the probate of wills and the settlement and distribution of estates. Property that passes only under the will still goes through that court, either in full administration or in one of the summary routes.

Does Wyoming Medicaid estate recovery reach a living trust or joint tenancy?

Yes. W.S. 42-4-206(g)(ii) defines the estate for recovery to include assets conveyed to a survivor, heir or assign through joint tenancy, tenancy in common, survivorship, life estate, living trust or other arrangement. W.S. 2-18-103(g) lets the Department of Health assert a lien on land under a transfer on death deed. Under 42-4-206(a) and (d), the claim waits for the death of a surviving spouse and is barred while a child under 21, or a blind or permanently and totally disabled child, survives.

What if something is left out of the plan?

Wyoming's small-estate routes catch it when the Wyoming estate subject to administration, less liens and encumbrances, is $400,000 or less. W.S. 2-1-201 lets a distributee collect money and personal property by affidavit 30 days after the death. Land needs the W.S. 2-1-205 application to the district court, two weeks of published notice, and a decree of summary distribution. Both ceilings rose from $200,000 to $400,000 on July 1, 2025.

This guide is general information about Wyoming estates. Confirm anything that affects your situation with the Clerk of District Court for your county, the county clerk where the property sits, 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.

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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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