Wyoming Revocable Living Trust

A Wyoming revocable living trust holds your property while you live and passes it to the people you name at death without a court case. You keep control and can change or cancel it at any time. It only covers the assets you actually retitle into it, and that is where most Wyoming trusts come up short.

The governing law is the Uniform Trust Code, Title 4, chapter 10 of the Wyoming Statutes. W.S. 4-10-101 gives the short title, and article 6 of the chapter, W.S. 4-10-601 through 4-10-604, covers revocable trusts. Every rule below was read against the Title 4 text the Wyoming Legislature published on May 8, 2026, after the 2026 budget session. The four most recent trust acts, 2019 House Bill 56, 2021 House Bill 104, 2023 House Bill 101 and 2025 Senate File 97, did not touch the four revocable-trust sections.

This guide walks through what the trust does, what Wyoming requires to create one, how to fund it, the pour-over will that backs it up, what happens after you die, and the honest case for skipping it.

What a Wyoming Revocable Living Trust Does

A revocable living trust is an arrangement that holds assets for your benefit while you are alive and for your beneficiaries after you die. "Living" means you create it now, during your life. "Revocable" means you can undo it.

Three things follow.

You stay in charge. W.S. 4-10-603(a) says that while a trust is revocable and the settlor has capacity to revoke it, the rights of the beneficiaries are subject to the settlor's control, and the trustee's duties are owed exclusively to the settlor. Your children have no right to see the trust books while you can still revoke it. With two settlors, 4-10-603(b) owes the duties to every settlor who still has capacity to revoke.

It skips probate for what is inside it. Property titled to the trustee passes under the trust instrument, so your successor trustee takes over without a district court appointment.

It does nothing for what is outside it. A signed trust with nothing retitled into it avoids nothing. The funding section below is where the work happens.

Creating One: What Wyoming Requires

W.S. 4-10-401(a) lists five ways to create a trust. The two that matter for a living trust are transferring property to a trustee during your life, and declaring that you hold identifiable property as trustee. Most Wyoming living trusts use the second one. The list also covers a trust created by an agent under a power of attorney, but only where the appointment document designates that express authority and the trust sends the property at death in line with your existing will or, without one, the intestacy rules of W.S. 2-4-101.

W.S. 4-10-403(a) then sets five conditions. A trust is created only if:

1. the settlor has capacity to create a trust
2. the settlor indicates an intention to create the trust
3. the trust has a definite beneficiary, or is a charitable trust, a trust for the care of an animal, or a trust for a noncharitable purpose
4. the trustee has duties to perform
5. the same person is not the sole trustee and sole beneficiary

The fifth one trips up single people. If you name yourself as the only trustee and the only beneficiary, with nobody taking after you, you have not created a trust. Naming beneficiaries who take at your death fixes it.

The capacity standard comes from W.S. 4-10-601: the capacity to create, amend, revoke, or add property to a revocable trust, or to direct the trustee, is the same as the capacity to make a will.

Wyoming is looser than many states on paperwork. W.S. 4-10-408 says a trust need not be evidenced by a trust instrument, though an oral trust and its terms can be proved only by clear and convincing evidence. The creation sections name no notary and no witnesses, and nothing in them requires you to file the trust with a court. Write it down and sign it anyway. The pour-over will described below works only with a written trust, and banks and title companies will ask for one.

Revocation and Amendment

W.S. 4-10-602(a) says that unless the terms of a trust expressly provide that it is irrevocable, the settlor may revoke or amend it. Under 4-10-602(f), a power to revoke includes a power to amend, unless the trust says otherwise.

W.S. 4-10-602(c) sets the methods. You can revoke or amend by following, in substance, a method the trust names. If the trust names no method, or names one without making it exclusive, you can also use a signed writing that expressly amends or revokes the trust, a provision in your will, or any other method showing clear and convincing evidence of your intent. When you revoke, 4-10-602(d) has the trustee deliver the property as you direct.

Four more subsections belong on your checklist:

• Married couples with a joint trust. Under 4-10-602(b)(ii), for property other than community property, each settlor may revoke the trust as to the portion attributable to that settlor's contribution, but the trust may be amended only by joint action of all settlors.
• Agents. Under 4-10-602(e), an agent under a power of attorney can revoke, amend, or distribute only to the extent the trust or the agent's power of attorney expressly authorizes it. A general Wyoming power of attorney should say plainly whether the agent may amend or fund your trust.
• Conservators and guardians. Under 4-10-602(g), a conservator, or a guardian where no conservator has been appointed, may exercise those powers only with the approval of the supervising court and a finding that the step meets your purpose in creating the trust.
• A trustee who was not told. Under 4-10-602(h), a trustee who does not know that the trust was revoked or amended is not liable for acting as though it was not. Deliver every amendment to the trustee.

Divorce changes the trust automatically. W.S. 2-6-125(b)(i) revokes any revocable gift to a former spouse, or to a relative of the former spouse, and any nomination of either as trustee, in an instrument signed before the divorce or annulment, unless the instrument, a court order, or a property settlement says otherwise. Revise the trust after a divorce rather than relying on the statute to do it cleanly.

Funding Is the Half People Skip

Funding means changing title so the trust owns the asset. A trust document signed and left in a drawer moves nothing. W.S. 4-10-402(a) spells out how trust property is titled.

Real estate. Sign a deed conveying the land to yourself as trustee and record it with the county clerk in the county where the land lies. Three Title 34 rules shape that deed:

• W.S. 34-1-113 requires a deed to be acknowledged before a notarial officer, and 34-1-118 makes that acknowledgment the ticket to recording.
• W.S. 34-2-122 requires a deed to a trustee, or to a trust, to define the trust: the name of the trustee, the name of the trust, and the date of the trust, or a reference to a recorded instrument that carries that information. Without it, the grantee is treated as owning the land individually.
• W.S. 34-1-120 makes an unrecorded deed void against a later good-faith buyer who records first, so record the deed promptly.

A married couple's home. W.S. 4-10-402(c) keeps the tenancy-by-the-entireties shield when spouses convey entireties property to their joint or separate revocable trusts. The property keeps its immunity from the separate creditors of either spouse while both are living and married and the property stays in trust for them, but only if the trust, the deed, or the conveyance says that subsection applies. Under 4-10-402(d), the immunity continues after the first death as to the deceased spouse's separate creditors. Subsection (e) keeps the Department of Health's Medicaid claim and lien intact.

Bank and brokerage accounts. Retitle each account under 4-10-402(a)(ii), in the name of the trustee as trustee of the trust or in the name of the trust. You do not have to hand over the whole document. W.S. 4-10-1014(a) lets the trustee furnish a certification or affidavit of trust that states the trust exists and the date it was signed, the settlor, the acting trustee and address, the trustee's powers, whether the trust is revocable and who can revoke it, the authority of cotrustees, and the manner of taking title. Section 4-10-1014(d) says it need not contain the dispositive terms, and 4-10-1014(h) makes a person who demands the full instrument in bad faith liable for damages.

Retirement accounts and life insurance. These pass by beneficiary designation. Naming a trust as the beneficiary of a retirement account changes how the money is taxed and paid out after death, so talk to the plan administrator or a Wyoming attorney before you do it.

Vehicles. Since July 1, 2025, a Wyoming owner can record a vehicle beneficiary designation form with the county clerk instead. See Wyoming vehicle transfers.

A Transfer On Death Deed Into the Trust

Wyoming offers a middle path for land. W.S. 2-18-103(e) says a transfer on death deed "may be used to transfer an interest in real property to the trustee of a trust even if the trust is revocable." You keep the land in your own name during life, and it moves to your trustee at death.

The deed has to be executed and recorded with the county clerk in the county where the land sits before you die, or it is not valid. After the death, 2-18-103(n) requires the trustee to record an affidavit under W.S. 34-11-101 with a certificate of clearance from the Wyoming Department of Health stating that all medical assistance claims are satisfied or do not exist. The trade-offs between a deed alone and a trust are covered on TOD deed or trust.

The Pour-Over Will

Every Wyoming living trust should come with a companion will, and W.S. 2-6-103 makes it work. It lets a will leave real and personal property to the trustee of a trust that is evidenced by a written instrument in existence when the will is made and identified in the will, even though the trust can be amended or revoked. Unless the will says otherwise, the property is governed by the trust instrument, including written amendments made before or after the will and before death.

Two traps sit in that sentence:

• Order of signing. The trust must exist when the will is made. Sign the trust first, then the will.
• Written amendments only. An oral trust, or an unwritten change to a written one, does not carry the pour-over property with it.

The pour-over will still has to be a valid Wyoming will. W.S. 2-6-112(a) requires a writing signed by the testator and two competent witnesses, and 2-6-112(b) lets the witnesses appear by audio-video communication if they can see and hear the testator in real time. See Wyoming will requirements.

One limit to keep in mind: property that pours over through the will goes through probate first. If funding was left unfinished, somebody opens a case in the district court to move it. The will backs up the trust. It does not replace funding.

What Happens After You Die

The trust becomes irrevocable, and three clocks start.

Sixty days to tell the beneficiaries. W.S. 4-10-813(b)(iii) says that within 60 days after the trustee learns a formerly revocable trust has become irrevocable, by the settlor's death or otherwise, the trustee shall notify the qualified beneficiaries of the trust's existence, the identity of the settlor, the right to request a copy of the trust instrument, and the right to a trustee's report. Section 4-10-813(b)(ii) gives a trustee who accepts the job 60 days to send a name, address, and telephone number, and 4-10-813(c) requires a report at least once a year. The trust instrument can limit or waive the subsection (b) duties, and 4-10-813(e), added by 2023 House Bill 101, lets the trustee of a trust that became irrevocable before July 1, 2003 opt out of subsections (b) and (c).

Two years to contest, or 120 days if the trustee moves first. W.S. 4-10-604(a) requires a contest of a trust that was revocable at death to start within the earlier of two years after the death, or 120 days after the trustee sent the person a copy of the trust instrument and a notice of the trust's existence, the trustee's name and address, and the time allowed. Under 4-10-604(c), notice counts as given when received, and delivery to the last known address is presumed to be receipt. Under 4-10-604(d), a person who misses the window is forever barred. Section 4-10-604(e) lets the trustee distribute in the meantime without liability, unless the trustee knows of a pending contest, or a potential contestant has given written notice and files within 60 days.

Creditors can still reach the trust. W.S. 4-10-506(d) says that after the settlor's death, the part of the trust that was revocable at death answers for the settlor's creditors, the costs of administering the estate, and the funeral expenses, to the extent the probate estate cannot cover them. See Wyoming creditor claims for the probate side.

The successor trustee's full job is covered in what the successor trustee does.

If You Become Incapacitated

A living trust also covers the years before death. If you serve as your own trustee and a guardian or conservator is appointed for you, W.S. 4-10-704(a)(vi) treats that as a vacancy in the trusteeship, and 4-10-704(c)(i) fills it first with the successor named in the trust. Name one, and a backup, so a court does not have to pick.

Wyoming also lets a trust appoint a trust protector or trust advisor. W.S. 4-10-710 lists powers the instrument can give a protector, such as removing and replacing a trustee for reasons the trust states, and 4-10-712 lets an advisor direct or approve investments and distributions. A simple family trust rarely needs either, but they are available.

What a Wyoming Trust Does Not Do

It does not stop your creditors. W.S. 4-10-506(a)(i) says that during your lifetime, the property of a revocable trust you contributed, with its income, appreciation, and proceeds, is subject to claims of your creditors, whether or not the trust has a spendthrift provision. Wyoming's separate qualified spendthrift trust (4-10-510 and the sections after it) is an irrevocable trust, not a living trust, and is outside this guide.

It does not shield the house from Medicaid. W.S. 42-4-206(g)(ii) defines the estate the Department of Health can recover from to include assets conveyed through joint tenancy, tenancy in common, survivorship, life estate, living trust, or other arrangement. Under 42-4-206(b) no statute of limitations applies to that claim. Recovery waits for the death of a 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.

It does not save a Wyoming death tax. W.S. 39-19-103(b) sets the Wyoming estate tax at the federal state death tax credit, a credit federal law no longer allows, so there is no state estate tax bill for a trust to avoid.

It does not replace a power of attorney or a health care directive. A trustee manages trust property. Somebody still needs authority over accounts outside the trust and over medical decisions.

When a Trust Is Worth It in Wyoming

Wyoming already gives you low-cost ways to move property without probate:

• One house. A transfer on death deed under W.S. 2-18-103 passes land at death for the cost of recording one deed.
• A small estate. W.S. 2-1-201(a)(i) lets a distributee collect personal property by affidavit 30 days after death when the entire Wyoming estate subject to administration, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $400,000. Land under that figure needs a 2-1-205 summary distribution. See the Wyoming small estate routes.
• Accounts and vehicles. Payable-on-death designations and the vehicle beneficiary designation form reach the same result for those assets.

A trust earns its cost when you own land in more than one state, want a successor to manage property if you become incapacitated, have a beneficiary who should receive money in stages, or want one document to control everything. Wyoming's own fee schedule also makes the case: W.S. 2-7-803 and 2-7-804 set percentage fees for the personal representative and the estate attorney on the probate estate, and trust property never enters that base. For the full comparison, see other ways to avoid probate. If you want money set aside for an animal, see a trust for a pet under W.S. 4-10-409.

Setting Up a Wyoming Living Trust: Step by Step

1. List every asset and how it is titled today.
2. Pick a successor trustee and a backup.
3. Name beneficiaries who take at your death, so you are not the sole trustee and sole beneficiary under 4-10-403(a)(v).
4. Sign a written trust instrument.
5. Then sign a pour-over will that meets 2-6-112 and identifies the trust, as 2-6-103 requires.
6. Deed any Wyoming land to yourself as trustee, define the trust in the deed under 34-2-122, have it acknowledged, and record it with the county clerk. Or record a transfer on death deed to the trustee under 2-18-103(e).
7. Retitle bank and brokerage accounts, using a certification of trust under 4-10-1014.
8. Review beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance.
9. Sign a power of attorney that says whether the agent may amend or fund the trust, as 4-10-602(e) requires.
10. Deliver every later amendment to the trustee in writing.

When To Call a Wyoming Attorney

Talk to a licensed Wyoming attorney when:

• Medicaid long-term care is likely, because 42-4-206(g)(ii) names the living trust
• you own land outside Wyoming
• a blended family or a prior divorce complicates who should take
• a beneficiary has a disability, a creditor problem, or an addiction that calls for staged payments
• a trust already exists and nobody knows which assets were ever retitled into it
• you are weighing the entireties protection in 4-10-402(c), which works only if the documents say so

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the Wyoming law on revocable living trusts?

In the Uniform Trust Code, Title 4, chapter 10 of the Wyoming Statutes. W.S. 4-10-101 gives the short title. Article 6 covers revocable trusts: 4-10-601 sets the capacity rule, 4-10-602 covers revocation and amendment, 4-10-603 covers the settlor's powers, and 4-10-604 limits the time to contest the trust after the settlor dies.

Does a Wyoming living trust have to be in writing or notarized?

Wyoming does not strictly require a writing. W.S. 4-10-408 says a trust need not be evidenced by a trust instrument, but an oral trust and its terms can be proved only by clear and convincing evidence. The creation rules in 4-10-401 and 4-10-403 name no notary or witnesses. Put it in writing anyway: W.S. 2-6-103 lets a will pour property into a trust only if the trust is evidenced by a written instrument, and a deed of land into the trust must be acknowledged before a notarial officer under W.S. 34-1-113.

Is a Wyoming trust revocable by default?

Yes. W.S. 4-10-602(a) says that unless the terms of a trust expressly provide that the trust is irrevocable, the settlor may revoke or amend it. Under 4-10-602(f), a power to revoke includes the power to amend unless the trust says otherwise.

Does a Wyoming pour-over will work if the trust is signed after the will?

Not under the statute. W.S. 2-6-103 lets a will leave property to the trustee of a trust evidenced by a written instrument in existence when the will is made and identified in the will. Sign the trust first, or on the same day before the will. Amendments made before or after the will, and before death, still govern the property unless the will says otherwise.

Does a Wyoming revocable trust protect assets from creditors?

No. W.S. 4-10-506(a)(i) says that during the settlor's lifetime the property of a revocable trust contributed by the settlor, with its income, appreciation and proceeds, is subject to claims of the settlor's creditors, whether or not the trust has a spendthrift provision. After death, 4-10-506(d) makes the trust answer for creditors, administration costs and funeral expenses to the extent the probate estate cannot cover them.

Does a Wyoming living trust protect a house from Medicaid estate recovery?

No. W.S. 42-4-206(g)(ii) defines the estate the Department of Health can recover from to include assets conveyed through joint tenancy, tenancy in common, survivorship, life estate, living trust or other arrangement. 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.

How long does someone have to contest a Wyoming living trust?

W.S. 4-10-604(a) gives a person the earlier of two years after the settlor's death, or 120 days after the trustee sent that person a copy of the trust instrument and a notice of the trust's existence, the trustee's name and address, and the time allowed to sue. Under 4-10-604(d), a person who misses that window is forever barred from contesting the trust's validity.

Does a Wyoming trust count toward the $400,000 small estate limit?

No. W.S. 2-1-201(a)(i) measures the entire Wyoming estate subject to administration, less liens and encumbrances, against $400,000. Property titled to the trustee passes under the trust instrument and is not subject to administration, so a funded trust can leave a probate estate small enough for the affidavit or the 2-1-205 summary distribution.

Sources:

• Title: W.S. 4-10-101, Short title; W.S. 4-10-105, Default and mandatory rules. Publisher: Wyoming State Legislature, Wyoming Statutes Title 4. Publication Date: May 8, 2026. URL: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title04.pdf
• Title: W.S. 4-10-401, Methods of creating trust; 4-10-402, Title of trust property; 4-10-403, Requirements for creation; 4-10-408, Evidence of oral trust; 4-10-409, Trust for care of animal. Publisher: Wyoming State Legislature, Wyoming Statutes Title 4. Publication Date: May 8, 2026. URL: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title04.pdf
• Title: W.S. 4-10-601, Capacity of settlor of revocable trust; 4-10-602, Revocation or amendment of revocable trust; 4-10-603, Settlor's powers; powers of withdrawal; 4-10-604, Limitation on action contesting validity of revocable trust; distribution of trust property. Publisher: Wyoming State Legislature, Wyoming Statutes Title 4. Publication Date: May 8, 2026. URL: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title04.pdf
• Title: W.S. 4-10-506, Creditor's claim against settlor. Publisher: Wyoming State Legislature, Wyoming Statutes Title 4. Publication Date: May 8, 2026. URL: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title04.pdf
• Title: W.S. 4-10-704, Vacancy in trusteeship; appointment of successor; 4-10-710, Trust protector; 4-10-712, Trust advisor. Publisher: Wyoming State Legislature, Wyoming Statutes Title 4. Publication Date: May 8, 2026. URL: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title04.pdf
• Title: W.S. 4-10-813, Duty to inform and report; 4-10-1014, Certification or affidavit of trust. Publisher: Wyoming State Legislature, Wyoming Statutes Title 4. Publication Date: May 8, 2026. URL: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title04.pdf
• Title: House Bill 101, Uniform trust code-amendments (Session Laws 2023, chapter 118). Publisher: Wyoming State Legislature. Publication Date: February 27, 2023. URL: https://wyoleg.gov/2023/Enroll/HB0101.pdf
• Title: Senate File 97, Trust code revisions (Session Laws 2025, chapter 115). Publisher: Wyoming State Legislature. Publication Date: March 5, 2025. URL: https://wyoleg.gov/2025/Enroll/SF0097.pdf
• Title: W.S. 2-6-103, Property passed may be governed by trust instrument; 2-6-112, Will to be in writing; number and competency of witnesses; 2-6-125, Revocation of probate and nonprobate transfers by divorce or annulment. Publisher: Wyoming State Legislature, Wyoming Statutes Title 2. Publication Date: May 8, 2026. URL: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title02.pdf
• Title: W.S. 2-18-103, Transfer on death deed. Publisher: Wyoming State Legislature, Wyoming Statutes Title 2. Publication Date: May 8, 2026. URL: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title02.pdf
• Title: W.S. 2-1-201, Payment of indebtedness and delivery of tangible personal property or instruments evidencing debt; and W.S. 2-1-205, Summary procedure for distribution of personal or real property. Publisher: Wyoming State Legislature, Wyoming Statutes Title 2. Publication Date: May 8, 2026. URL: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title02.pdf
• Title: W.S. 2-7-803, Fees of personal representative; schedule; and W.S. 2-7-804, Fees of attorney for estate; schedule. Publisher: Wyoming State Legislature, Wyoming Statutes Title 2. Publication Date: May 8, 2026. URL: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title02.pdf
• Title: W.S. 31-2-104.1, Transfer of title upon death; beneficiary designation forms; definitions. Publisher: Wyoming State Legislature, Wyoming Statutes Title 31. Publication Date: May 8, 2026. URL: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title31.pdf
• Title: W.S. 34-1-113, Acknowledgment of conveyances; 34-1-118, Where conveyance to be recorded; 34-1-120, Unrecorded conveyance void as to subsequent purchasers recording first; 34-2-122, Notice of trust or representative capacity of grantee. Publisher: Wyoming State Legislature, Wyoming Statutes Title 34. Publication Date: May 8, 2026. URL: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title34.pdf
• Title: W.S. 42-4-206, Claims against estates. Publisher: Wyoming State Legislature, Wyoming Statutes Title 42. Publication Date: May 8, 2026. URL: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title42.pdf
• Title: W.S. 39-19-103, Imposition of tax. Publisher: Wyoming State Legislature, Wyoming Statutes Title 39. Publication Date: May 8, 2026. URL: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title39.pdf

It is not legal advice.