Wyoming Transfer on Death Deed

A Wyoming transfer on death deed names who receives your Wyoming land when you die, and it works only if the county clerk records it before your death. After the death, the beneficiary takes title by recording two documents: a sworn affidavit and a Wyoming Department of Health certificate of clearance showing that no Medicaid claim is left unpaid.

Wyoming drafted its own statute for this. Title 2, chapter 18 of the Wyoming Statutes, sections 2-18-101 through 2-18-106, is the "Nontestamentary Transfer of Real Property on Death Act" under W.S. 2-18-101. House Bill 201 of 2013 created it (Session Laws 2013, chapter 100), effective July 1, 2013. Three later acts changed it:

• 2014 House Bill 175 (chapter 34, effective July 1, 2014) rewrote 2-18-103(n), the rule on proving the death and the transfer.
• 2023 House Bill 96 (chapter 85, effective July 1, 2023) added the 60-day insurance carry-over in 2-18-103(o) and created W.S. 26-23-109.
• 2025 Senate File 39 (chapter 73, effective July 1, 2025) extended 2-18-103(a) to titled property and created the vehicle beneficiary form at W.S. 31-2-104.1.

Here is how the deed works, from drafting to the weeks after your death.

What A Wyoming Transfer On Death Deed Does

W.S. 2-18-103(a) says a deed that conveys an interest in real property to a grantee beneficiary designated by the owner, and that "expressly states that the deed or title is effective on the death of the owner," transfers the deceased owner's interest to that beneficiary at death. The beneficiary must be designated by name in the deed.

Three definitions in 2-18-102 set the vocabulary:

• Owner means the person who executes the transfer on death deed.
• Grantee beneficiary means the person to whom the owner grants the interest in the real property.
• Successor grantee beneficiary means the person who takes if the first grantee beneficiary does not survive the owner.

The deed passes outside your will and outside probate. It does not wipe the slate clean. Under 2-18-103(a), the beneficiary takes subject to every conveyance, assignment, contract, mortgage, deed of trust, lien, security pledge, and other encumbrance you made or were subject to during your life, plus any interest the beneficiary had actual or constructive notice of. The mortgage stays with the house.

Title does not move early. W.S. 2-18-103(o) says title vests in the grantee beneficiary "only on the death of the owner." Until then you can sell, refinance, or lease the land without asking anyone, because 2-18-103(k) says the beneficiary's signature, consent, agreement, or notice is not required for any purpose during your lifetime.

How To Make One

W.S. 2-18-104 prints a statutory form and says a transfer on death deed is sufficient if it complies with other applicable law and follows that form in substance. The form is short. It needs:

1. the owner's name and the grantee beneficiary's name, in the words "hereby convey to ... effective on my (our) death"
2. the legal description of the property, which is different from a street address
3. a choice of what happens if a grantee beneficiary dies before you (covered below)
4. the date, the grantor's signature, and an acknowledgment before a notary

Then record it. W.S. 2-18-103(e) says a transfer on death deed "is valid only if the deed is executed and recorded, as provided by law, in the office of the county clerk in the county in which the real property is situated, before the death of the owner or the last surviving owner." In Wyoming the county clerk records deeds. The clerk of district court handles probate cases, which is a different office.

Recording triggers a notice you may not expect. W.S. 34-1-119(b) requires the county clerk, within 14 days of recording a transfer on death deed, to send the Wyoming Department of Health, Division of Healthcare Financing, the grantor's name, the grantee's name, and the legal description of the property. So the state Medicaid program hears about your deed within two weeks of recording.

The same subsection 2-18-103(e) lets you name the trustee of a trust as the beneficiary, "even if the trust is revocable." If you already have a revocable living trust instead, a transfer on death deed to its trustee can move land into the trust at death without a lifetime deed.

Naming More Than One Beneficiary

W.S. 2-18-103(b) lets one deed name several grantees, who take title as joint tenants with right of survivorship, tenants in common, or any other tenancy valid in Wyoming. Say which one you mean. Two children named as tenants in common each own a share they can pass on. Named as joint tenants, the survivor of the two ends up with the whole.

You can also name a backup. Under 2-18-103(c), a deed may designate a successor grantee beneficiary, and if it does, the deed "must state the condition on which the interest of the successor grantee beneficiary would vest." Write out the condition, such as "if my daughter does not survive me."

If A Beneficiary Dies Before You

The Wyoming form puts this choice in the owner's hands. After the legal description, 2-18-104 says that if a grantee beneficiary predeceases the owner, the conveyance to that beneficiary must either (choose one):

• Become void. The share drops out, and it follows whatever else the deed says, such as a successor grantee.
• Become part of the estate of the grantee beneficiary. The share passes into the dead beneficiary's own estate, which can mean a probate in that person's name.

Pick one on purpose. The second box keeps the share in the beneficiary's family line, but it can hand the land to that person's heirs or will beneficiaries, and possibly to a court process you were trying to avoid.

Joint Owners

Joint tenancy gets its own rule in 2-18-103(d). A deed signed by all the then surviving joint tenants that expressly takes effect on the death of the last surviving owner transfers the land when that last owner dies.

Wyoming also answers what happens when only one joint tenant signs. A deed executed by fewer than all of the joint owners is valid only if the last surviving owner is one of the people who signed it. If the last survivor did not sign, "the transfer lapses and the deed is void." The joint tenancy itself is not affected, and the rights of a surviving joint tenant "prevail over a grantee beneficiary named in a transfer on death deed." Married couples who own as joint tenants should both sign.

Changing Or Revoking The Deed

W.S. 2-18-103(f) lets an owner revoke a transfer on death deed at any time, or, with more than one owner, lets any owner who executed it revoke it. To take effect, the revocation must be executed and recorded with the county clerk where the land sits "before the death of the owner who executes the revocation." For joint tenants, a revocation that not every signing owner executed is not effective unless the last surviving owner signed it.

W.S. 2-18-105 prints a revocation form. It identifies the deed by its recording date, deed book, and page in the county clerk's office, repeats the legal description, and ends with the grantor's signature and an acknowledgment.

Two more rules close common gaps:

• The last recorded deed wins. Under 2-18-103(h), if you record more than one transfer on death deed for the same land, the last one recorded before your death is the effective one.
• A will cannot undo it. Under 2-18-103(m), a transfer on death deed executed, acknowledged, and recorded under the section "is not revoked by the provisions of a will." If you change your mind, record a new deed or a revocation. Writing a new will does nothing to the land. Wyoming will requirements cover what a will can still do.

What The Beneficiary Does After The Death

Nothing happens automatically at the courthouse. W.S. 2-18-103(n) says proof of the death and of the transfer by operation of law "shall be established exclusively" by recording two documents with the county clerk of the county where the land sits:

1. An affidavit under W.S. 34-11-101. That section lets anyone with knowledge of the facts, competent to testify, record an affidavit about a death that affects title. It must describe the land and name the record owner, and one containing a jurat needs no certificate of acknowledgment. Section 2-18-103(n)(ii) adds that the affidavit "shall identify the transfer on death deed by deed book and page or document number."
2. A certificate of clearance. The Wyoming Department of Health issues it, and it "shall certify that all medical assistance claims have either been satisfied or do not exist."

The word "exclusively" matters. A death certificate alone, or a letter to the county clerk, does not complete the transfer. Ask the Department of Health about the certificate as soon as you have the death certificate in hand, because the county clerk cannot record the transfer without it.

The same subsection covers a beneficiary's death. Section 2-18-103(n) applies to proof of the death "of the owner or a grantee beneficiary," so the same two recorded documents prove either death.

Medicaid Can Still Reach The Land

A transfer on death deed skips probate. It does not skip Medicaid estate recovery. W.S. 2-18-103(g) says that when a Medicaid recipient conveys land by transfer on death deed, the Department of Health "may assert a lien against the property" for the amount it could have recovered against the owner's estate under W.S. 42-4-206, and may file that lien under W.S. 42-4-207.

W.S. 42-4-206 sets the edges of that amount:

• The claim covers medical assistance paid when the person was 55 or older, or while an inpatient in a nursing facility, an intermediate care facility for people with intellectual disability, or another inpatient medical facility (42-4-206(a), (c)). It carries no interest.
• For a married couple, the claim is filed at the death of the surviving spouse (42-4-206(a)).
• No claim is filed if the decedent leaves a child under 21, or a child who is blind or permanently and totally disabled under 42 U.S.C. § 1382c (42-4-206(d)).
• The Department must have a procedure to waive recovery that would work an undue hardship (42-4-206(f)).

That is why the certificate of clearance exists. For how Medicaid fits alongside other debts, see the Department of Health lien and the Wyoming creditor-claim rules.

Insurance For The First 60 Days

The 2023 amendment protects a beneficiary who inherits a house and has not yet bought a policy. W.S. 2-18-103(o) says insurance in force on the property when the last titled owner dies "shall be transferred and extended to the designated grantee beneficiary" for up to 60 days after that death, unless the beneficiary disclaimed the property.

W.S. 26-23-109 fills in the details for transfers on and after July 1, 2023:

• The coverage treats the beneficiary as if the beneficiary were a named insured, and it runs 60 days after the transfer of title (26-23-109(a), (b)).
• Within those 60 days, each grantee beneficiary must notify the insurer of the transfer and give a current address. Missing that notice does not cancel the extended coverage (26-23-109(c)).
• If the beneficiary gave notice, the insurer must write at least 20 business days before the coverage ends and state the exact end date (26-23-109(d)).

Call the insurer in the first week. Sixty days runs out quickly while an estate is being sorted.

Saying No To The Property

A beneficiary does not have to accept. W.S. 2-18-106 lets a grantee beneficiary refuse all or any part of the real property interest, and a beneficiary who refuses or disclaims "shall have no liability under this chapter by reason of being designated as grantee beneficiary." That can matter for land carrying a mortgage larger than its value.

Vehicles Have A Separate Form

Since July 1, 2025, Wyoming also lets a vehicle owner name a beneficiary. W.S. 31-2-104.1 requires each county clerk to make available a beneficiary designation form showing the vehicle, all owners, the words "transfer on death to" and the beneficiary's name, and the notarized signatures of all owners. The form is recorded with the county clerk in the county where the vehicle is titled. After the death, the beneficiary brings the recorded form, a certified death certificate, and the title fee to the county clerk for a new title, subject to any liens. The Wyoming Department of Transportation publishes this as form MV-308. See Wyoming vehicle title transfers for the steps.

Where A Transfer On Death Deed Fits

W.S. 2-18-103(j) says the section does not prohibit other lawful methods of postponing enjoyment of real property until the owner's death. Joint tenancy and a living trust still work, and each has trade-offs:

• A transfer on death deed costs a recording fee and keeps you in full control, but the beneficiary still needs the Department of Health clearance after death.
• A living trust can hold land in several states and manage it if you become incapacitated. The deed cannot. Compare TOD deed or living trust before choosing.
• Joint tenancy gives the co-owner rights during your life, which a transfer on death deed never does.

For the full comparison, including payable on death accounts and transfer on death securities, read other ways to avoid probate. A beneficiary who plans to sell should record the affidavit and certificate of clearance first, then see selling the property later.

What Recording Costs

W.S. 18-3-402(a)(xvi)(A) sets the county clerk's charge for recording any instrument at $12.00 for the first page and $3.00 for each additional page. A two-page deed costs $15.00. The revocation and the post-death affidavit are recorded under the same schedule. Confirm the page count and any certified-copy charge with your county clerk before you go.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Wyoming have a transfer on death deed?

Yes. Title 2, chapter 18 of the Wyoming Statutes, sections 2-18-101 through 2-18-106, is the Nontestamentary Transfer of Real Property on Death Act. House Bill 201 of 2013 (Session Laws 2013, chapter 100) created it, effective July 1, 2013. Under W.S. 2-18-103(a), a deed that expressly states it is effective on the death of the owner transfers the owner's interest to the named grantee beneficiary at death.

Does a Wyoming transfer on death deed have to be recorded before death?

Yes. W.S. 2-18-103(e) says the deed is valid only if it is executed and recorded in the office of the county clerk in the county where the real property sits, before the death of the owner or the last surviving owner. A signed deed that was never recorded transfers nothing under chapter 18.

What does a beneficiary need to take title after the owner dies?

Two recorded documents. W.S. 2-18-103(n) makes this the exclusive proof of death and transfer: an affidavit under W.S. 34-11-101 that identifies the deed by book and page or document number, and a certificate of clearance from the Wyoming Department of Health certifying that all medical assistance claims have either been satisfied or do not exist. Both are recorded with the county clerk where the land sits.

How do you revoke a Wyoming transfer on death deed?

By recording a revocation. W.S. 2-18-103(f) lets the owner revoke at any time, but the revocation must be executed and recorded with the county clerk where the property sits before the death of the owner who signs it. W.S. 2-18-105 prints a revocation form. Under 2-18-103(m), a will does not revoke a recorded transfer on death deed, and under 2-18-103(h) the last deed recorded before death controls.

What happens if a Wyoming TOD deed beneficiary dies first?

The deed decides. The statutory form in W.S. 2-18-104 makes the owner check one of two boxes: the conveyance to a beneficiary who dies first becomes void, or it becomes part of that beneficiary's estate. W.S. 2-18-103(c) also allows a successor grantee beneficiary, as long as the deed states the condition on which that person's interest vests.

Can Wyoming Medicaid reach a house that passed by a transfer on death deed?

Yes. W.S. 2-18-103(g) lets the Department of Health assert a lien against the property for the amount it could have recovered from the owner's estate under W.S. 42-4-206. That claim covers medical assistance paid after age 55 or while the person was an inpatient in a nursing facility or other medical facility, and 42-4-206(d) bars a claim when the person leaves a child under 21 or a child who is blind or permanently and totally disabled.

What does it cost to record a transfer on death deed in Wyoming?

W.S. 18-3-402(a)(xvi)(A) sets the county clerk's recording charge for any instrument at $12.00 for the first page and $3.00 for each additional page. A two-page deed comes to $15.00 under that schedule. The same schedule applies to the revocation and to the affidavit recorded after death.

This guide is general information about Wyoming real property and estates. Confirm anything that affects a particular parcel with the county clerk where it sits, the Wyoming Department of Health, or a licensed Wyoming attorney before you sign or record.

Sources:

• Title: W.S. 2-18-101, Short title.; W.S. 2-18-102, Definitions. 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. 2-18-104, Form of transfer on death deed.; W.S. 2-18-105, Form for revoking a transfer on death deed.; W.S. 2-18-106, Disclaimer. Publisher: Wyoming State Legislature, Wyoming Statutes Title 2. Publication Date: May 8, 2026. URL: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title02.pdf
• Title: W.S. 34-11-101, Recorded affidavit as evidence; subjects; facts.; W.S. 34-1-119, Duties of county clerk generally. 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.; W.S. 42-4-207, Recovery of incorrect payments; recovery of correct payments; liens. Publisher: Wyoming State Legislature, Wyoming Statutes Title 42. Publication Date: May 8, 2026. URL: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title42.pdf
• Title: W.S. 26-23-109, Insurance coverage for real property subject to transfer on death deeds. Publisher: Wyoming State Legislature, Wyoming Statutes Title 26. Publication Date: May 8, 2026. URL: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title26.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. 18-3-402, Duties generally (county clerk recording fees). Publisher: Wyoming State Legislature, Wyoming Statutes Title 18. Publication Date: May 8, 2026. URL: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title18.pdf
• Title: House Bill 201, Transfer on death deed (Session Laws 2013, chapter 100). Publisher: Wyoming State Legislature. Publication Date: February 28, 2013. URL: https://wyoleg.gov/2013/Enroll/HB0201.pdf
• Title: House Bill 175, Transfer on death deed (Session Laws 2014, chapter 34). Publisher: Wyoming State Legislature. Publication Date: March 6, 2014. URL: https://wyoleg.gov/2014/Enroll/HB0175.pdf
• Title: House Bill 96, Transfer on death deed-insurance coverage (Session Laws 2023, chapter 85). Publisher: Wyoming State Legislature. Publication Date: February 24, 2023. URL: https://wyoleg.gov/2023/Enroll/HB0096.pdf
• Title: Senate File 39, Automatic transfer of automobile title upon death (Session Laws 2025, chapter 73). Publisher: Wyoming State Legislature. Publication Date: February 28, 2025. URL: https://wyoleg.gov/2025/Enroll/SF0039.pdf

It is not legal advice.