Are Beneficiary Designations Protected in Wyoming?
Wyoming automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorceWyo. Stat. § 2-6-125 (§ 2-6-118 repealed by Laws 2023, ch. 140, § 2)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.
A beneficiary designation on life insurance, a retirement account, a payable-on-death bank account or a transfer-on-death brokerage account decides who receives that asset at death, in Wyoming as everywhere. The designation controls over the will or trust, and an outdated one stays in force whatever the other documents say.
Yes. Wyoming automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary on divorce for these asset types: life insurance, retirement accounts, pod accounts, tod accounts, annuitiesWyo. Stat. § 2-6-125 (§ 2-6-118 repealed by Laws 2023, ch. 140, § 2)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source. An ERISA-governed employer plan (a 401(k), a pension) follows federal law instead and must be updated by hand whatever the state rule says.
Yes. The federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) preempts state law for an employer-sponsored plan such as a 401(k), a pension or group life insurance: the plan pays the designation on file with the plan administrator, and a qualified plan requires the spouse's consent to name anyone else (Egelhoff v. Egelhoff, 2001; Kennedy v. Plan Administrator, 2009). Wyoming sets no spousal-consent requirement of its own for an individual account.
Yes. Wyoming gives inherited IRAs full statutory protection from creditorsWyo. Stat. § 1-20-110(a)(iii), (a)(v), (d)(vi)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source. After Clark v. Rameker (2014) held that federal bankruptcy law does not protect an inherited IRA, the state statute is the shield.
No. Wyoming does not default to per stirpes for beneficiary designationsWyo. Stat. § 2-6-106 (antilapse, wills only); § 2-16-111 (opt-in LDPS); no UPC § 2-706 analog enactedVerified Sep 15, 2026View source: when a named beneficiary dies before the account holder, the share lapses unless the designation says per stirpes or names a contingent beneficiary.
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Divorce
What divorce does and does not undo: beneficiary designations, your will, powers of attorney, and the one account your ex stays on until you change it.
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Marriage
What married couples need in place: one joint trust or two, wills, beneficiary updates, and the spousal rights your state grants you automatically.
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Retirement
Retirement changes your financial picture. Healthcare directives, beneficiary reviews, long-term care planning, and protecting what you've built.
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Serious Diagnosis
A serious diagnosis changes priorities. Healthcare proxies, financial powers of attorney, and the documents that ensure your wishes are honored.
Learn moreForms for Planning Your Estate in Wyoming
Free forms for planning your estate in Wyoming: a will, living trust, pour-over will, both powers of attorney, living will, and TOD deed.
Last Will and Testament
In Wyoming, a will is signed before 2Wyo. Stat. § 2-6-112Verified Oct 19, 2026View source witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonyWyo. Stat. § 2-6-112Verified Oct 19, 2026View source.
Healthcare Power of Attorney
Wyoming allows a choice for a healthcare power of attorney: 2Wyo. Stat. § 35-22-405 (repealed 2007 Ch. 61, § 2)Verified Oct 15, 2026View source witnesses or a notary.
Financial Power of Attorney
Wyoming treats a power of attorney as durable by defaultWyo. Stat. §§ 3-9-101 to 3-9-403 (Uniform Power of Attorney Act, eff. Jan 1, 2018; SF0105, 2017 session; repealed former §§ 3-5-101, 3-5-102)Verified Sep 20, 2026View source, and it is signed with no witness or notary requirementWyo. Stat. §§ 3-9-101 to 3-9-403 (Uniform Power of Attorney Act, eff. Jan 1, 2018; SF0105, 2017 session; repealed former §§ 3-5-101, 3-5-102)Verified Sep 20, 2026View source.
Transfer on Death Deed
In Wyoming, a transfer on death deed is signed before a notaryWyo. Stat. 2-18-101 to 2-18-106Verified Oct 19, 2026View source, then recorded with the county before the owner's deathWyo. Stat. 2-18-101 to 2-18-106Verified Oct 19, 2026View source.
Vehicle Transfer on Death
Name a beneficiary to inherit your vehicle at death without probate. Available in 26 states and the District of Columbia.
Living Will
In Wyoming, the living will is the Advance Health Care DirectiveWyo. Stat. Title 35, Ch. 22, Art. 4 (Wyoming Health Care Decisions Act), §§ 35-22-401 to 35-22-416Verified Sep 27, 2026View source, a written instruction that is valid with no agent named.
Tools for Planning Your Estate in Wyoming
Free tools for planning your estate in Wyoming: what a will or trust costs, whether you need a trust or TOD deed, and how documents are signed.
What Does Estate Planning Actually Cost?
An attorney-prepared revocable trust in Wyoming runs $3,070Estimate: 10 hours at $307, Clio's Wyoming Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $4,605Estimate: 15 hours at $307, Clio's Wyoming Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source and a simple will $831Estimate: 3 hours at $277, Clio's Wyoming Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $1,662Estimate: 6 hours at $277, Clio's Wyoming Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?
In Wyoming, four years at a public university cost about $60,976NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 330.20, public 4-year in-state tuition, fees, room and board, academic year 2022-23Verified Oct 17, 2026View source and the cost of living is 7% below the U.S. averageBEA Regional Price Parities, all items, by state, 2024Verified Oct 17, 2026View source; no state estate or inheritance tax appliesNo state estate or inheritance tax is payable. Wyoming never repealed its death tax: Wyo. Stat. § 39-19-103(a) still imposes "a tax... on the transfer of property constituting the Wyoming gross estate of every decedent," but § 39-19-103(b) sets the amount at "the maximum state death tax credit allowed to a Wyoming estate as a credit against federal estate taxes under the laws of the United States." That federal credit (former IRC § 2011) was phased out by EGTRRA 2001 and terminated for deaths after Dec 31, 2004 (IRC § 2011(g)), so the Wyoming tax computes to $0 for every death on or after January 1, 2005. Despite the chapter caption "Inheritance Taxes," Chapter 19 is a pick-up estate tax — Wyoming has no relationship-class inheritance tax and no state gift or generation-skipping transfer tax.Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
How Much Does Probate Cost?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in Wyoming costs an estimated $21,210Wyo. Stat. § 2-7-804 (10% of first $1K, 5% of next $4K, 3% of next $15K, 2% thereafter)Verified Sep 9, 2026View source. Attorney fees are statutory (set by law)Wyo. Stat. § 2-7-804 (10% of first $1K, 5% of next $4K, 3% of next $15K, 2% thereafter)Verified Sep 9, 2026View source.
Who Inherits Without a Will?
Without a will in Wyoming, a surviving spouse takes half of the estateWyo. Stat. § 2-4-101Verified Sep 10, 2026View source when every child of either spouse is a child of both, and descendants divide what passes to them per stirpesWyo. Stat. § 2-4-101Verified Sep 10, 2026View source.
How Much Does a Revocable Living Trust Cost?
An attorney-prepared revocable living trust in Wyoming runs $3,070Estimate: 10 hours at $307, Clio's Wyoming Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $4,605Estimate: 15 hours at $307, Clio's Wyoming Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source for an individual, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
How Much Does a Will Cost?
An attorney-prepared will in Wyoming runs $831Estimate: 3 hours at $277, Clio's Wyoming Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $1,662Estimate: 6 hours at $277, Clio's Wyoming Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $299 up front with an online service, and probate on a $500,000 estate adds about $21,210Wyo. Stat. § 2-7-804 (10% of first $1K, 5% of next $4K, 3% of next $15K, 2% thereafter)Verified Sep 9, 2026View source.
How Does SimplyTrust Compare to LegalZoom, Trust & Will, and Other Services?
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How Do I Name a Guardian for My Minor Children?
In Wyoming, a parent names a guardian for a minor child in a willWyo. Stat. § 3-2-107(d), (e)Verified Sep 16, 2026View source, and the nomination covers the child until the age of majority, 18Wyo. Stat. § 14-1-101(a)Verified Sep 16, 2026View source.
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Wyoming Estate Planning Resources
In-depth guides covering Wyoming probate laws, trust requirements, and estate planning strategies.