What Happens When an Estate Is Insolvent in Wyoming?
Enter the estate's assets and the claims in each class of Wyoming's payment order to see which claims are paid in full, which are paid in part, and which go unpaid, along with when the executor is personally liable.
Frequently Asked Questions
An estate is insolvent when the claims against it exceed the assets available to pay them. Wyoming then pays the claims in 10 classes, in the order its statute sets, and the classes at the end of the order are the ones left unpaid when the money runs outW.S. § 2-7-701(a)Verified Sep 23, 2026View source.
1. Court costsW.S. § 2-7-701(a)(i)Verified Sep 23, 2026View source. 2. Other costs of administrationW.S. § 2-7-701(a)(ii)Verified Sep 23, 2026View source. 3. Reasonable funeral and burial expensesW.S. § 2-7-701(a)(iii)Verified Sep 23, 2026View source. 4. Allowances to surviving spouse/minor children (W.S. 2-7-503, 2-7-504)W.S. § 2-7-701(a)(iv)Verified Sep 23, 2026View source. 5. Debts and taxes having preference under federal lawW.S. § 2-7-701(a)(v)Verified Sep 23, 2026View source. 6. Medical and hospital expenses of the last illnessW.S. § 2-7-701(a)(vi)Verified Sep 23, 2026View source. 7. Taxes having preference under Wyoming lawW.S. § 2-7-701(a)(vii)Verified Sep 23, 2026View source. 8. Employee wages for labor in the 90 days preceding deathW.S. § 2-7-701(a)(viii)Verified Sep 23, 2026View source. 9. Public assistance repayment claimsW.S. § 2-7-701(a)(ix)Verified Sep 23, 2026View source. 10. All other claims allowedW.S. § 2-7-701(a)(x)Verified Sep 23, 2026View source.
In proportion to their amounts: each claim in the class receives the same share of what it is owedW.S. § 2-7-702Verified Sep 23, 2026View source.
Wyoming's statutes state no rule on the executor's personal liability for the decedent's debts, paying a later class before an earlier class is paid in full or distributing property to heirs while claims are unpaid.
Wyoming law recognizes that a person named as executor may refuse the appointment (W.S. 2-6-201(a)(ii)) but prescribes no particular document. A signed written renunciation filed with the court states the refusal on the record. Renunciation of Executor for Wyoming
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