Letter asking for the balance on the date of death in Wyoming

A short letter that asks a bank or other holder for the value of the person's accounts on the date of death. Banks usually want this before the estate is settled.

Required when you mail the letter.

It goes into the letter only. It is never saved or sent to us.

It goes into the letter as you type it. You can add a ready-made sentence:

Other formats

Do not send original documents unless the holder asks; keep copies. Sign the letter and keep a copy.

What to expect

A bank may ask for a certified death certificate and proof that you are allowed to ask. The bank decides what it will release and when.

Bank accounts after a death in Wyoming

A joint account payable to the survivor is paid under the account contract, and a payable-on-death account is paid to the named payee on proof of death. An account in the person's sole name must be paid, with interest, to the distributees who present a certified copy of the filed small estate affidavit; if the bank does not pay within 45 days without just cause and you sue, the court must award attorney's fees and costs.

Law: Wyo. Stat. secs. 2-1-201(e), 2-1-202, 2-1-203

Source: Official page

Do bank accounts count toward the small estate limit?

Kind of propertyHow it is treatedDetails
Bank accounts in the person's name alone
Counts

Accounts in the person's sole name count.

Law: W.S. 2-1-201(a)(i), (e)

Joint or payable-on-death (POD) bank accounts
Left out

Joint accounts payable to the survivor and payable-on-death accounts are paid under the account contract and do not go through probate.

Law: W.S. 2-1-203

Transfer-on-death (TOD) and payable-on-death (POD) in Wyoming

Bank account (POD)

Yes

Law: Wyo. Stat. sec. 2-1-203(d)

Source: Official page

Death certificates in Wyoming

Generally only those listed on the record, immediate family members and their lawyers can get a certified copy. The first certified death certificate is $25 and each additional copy in the same order is $20.

Law: WDH Vital Statistics Services, Request for Certified Copy - Death (2024 form)

Where to get it
Wyoming Department of Health, Vital Statistics Services, Cheyenne, (307) 777-7591
Official page
Official page

Surviving spouse in Wyoming

In a probate case, the court sets over to the surviving spouse (or, if none, the minor children) all property exempt from execution, including the homestead, as their own property, not subject to the person's debts except administration and funeral costs if nothing else is available; the homestead exemption is $30,000. The court can also allow money for family support. Wyoming has no separate spouse-only small estate procedure.

Distribution by affidavit (W.S. 2-1-201)

A sworn affidavit, filed with the county clerk, stating that the Wyoming probate estate is $400,000 or less. You give certified copies to banks, brokers and others holding the person's personal property, and they must pay or deliver it to you.

Limit

Up to $400,000 (deaths on or after July 1, 2025) Counted after subtracting liens (what is owed on the property).

Date of deathLimit
On or after July 1, 2025
$400,000
On or before June 30, 2025
$200,000

The person's Wyoming estate subject to probate, minus liens and encumbrances, cannot be worth more than $400,000. The limit rose from $200,000 to $400,000 on July 1, 2025.

What counts

The value of the person's entire estate located in Wyoming that would be subject to probate (with or without a will), minus liens and encumbrances. Property outside Wyoming and property that passes outside probate are not counted.

Waiting period

At least 30 days must have passed since the death, and no application to appoint a personal representative can be pending or granted in Wyoming.

Who can use it

The distributees (heirs, will beneficiaries, or people who inherit through them), or their attorney. The affidavit must state how each person is related to the person who died, the legal basis of their claim, and that there are no other distributees with a right to the property.

Court or where to file

Filed with the county clerk (not a court). Certified copies are then given to the holders of the property.

Notary

It is an affidavit, so it is sworn before a notary.

Papers to attach
  • Certified death certificate (holders and the county clerk usually ask for it)
  • Facts showing each distributee's relationship to the person and the legal basis of the claim
  • If a personal representative was applied for outside Wyoming: that person's name and address, the court and the dates
Steps
  1. Add up the Wyoming probate property, minus liens, and confirm it is $400,000 or less.
  2. Wait until at least 30 days after the death.
  3. Prepare the affidavit with the statements W.S. 2-1-201(a) requires and sign it before a notary.
  4. File it with the county clerk and get certified copies.
  5. Give a certified copy to each bank, broker or other holder. For a vehicle, give it to the county clerk where the vehicle is registered.
Fee

The county clerk charges for filing and certified copies; ask the clerk.

Debts and responsibility

A person who receives property by affidavit is answerable and accountable to a personal representative appointed later and to anyone with an equal or better right to it.

What the bank or holder must do

On a filed affidavit, a holder must pay or deliver property held in the person's sole name, with interest and dividends; a receipt is its release. The holder is discharged as if it dealt with a personal representative and need not check the affidavit. If it refuses, you can sue, and the court must award reasonable attorney's fees and costs if the property was not delivered within 45 days after the affidavit was presented, unless there was just cause (W.S. 2-1-202).

Law: Wyo. Stat. secs. 2-1-201, 2-1-202, 2-1-209

Source: Official page

Who inherits with no will in Wyoming

If there is no will and the person leaves a spouse and children (or descendants of children), the spouse gets one-half and the children share the other half. With a spouse and no children or descendants, the spouse gets everything. With no spouse, everything goes to the children and descendants of deceased children; if none, to the father, mother, brothers and sisters (and descendants of deceased brothers and sisters) in equal parts; then to more distant relatives.

Law: Wyo. Stat. sec. 2-4-101

Source: Official page

Good to know in Wyoming

  • Wyoming doubled its small estate limit from $200,000 to $400,000 effective July 1, 2025 (2025 Enrolled Act No. 85, SF0104).
  • A bank or other holder that does not pay within 45 days after the affidavit is presented, without just cause, must pay your attorney's fees and costs if you sue (W.S. 2-1-202(b)).
  • Wyoming's decree of summary distribution can transfer real estate and mineral interests without full probate, using newspaper notice (W.S. 2-1-205).

Changes in 2024–2026

2025 Wyo. Sess. Laws, Enrolled Act No. 85 (SF0104), effective July 1, 2025: limits for the small estate affidavit (2-1-201), government-creditor affidavit (2-1-204), summary distribution decree (2-1-205) and nonresident ancillary shortcuts (2-11-201, 2-11-202) raised from $200,000 to $400,000; new rule on non-qualified disclaimers (2-1-403(d)).

Related pages

Free help in Wyoming

A court self-help center or a legal aid office can check whether the estate qualifies, free of charge or at low cost.