Updated September 3, 2026. Quick answer: Wyoming lets a small estate be settled with A sworn affidavit: Wyoming’s small-estate mechanism under W.S. § 2-1-201 is presented directly to whoever holds the decedent’s property (bank, broker, etc.), with no court proceeding required for personal property. A separate, broader court-based mechanism (W.S. § 2-1-205) exists for estates that include real property., usable after a 30-day wait, and it is The affidavit is filed/recorded with the county clerk of the relevant Wyoming county; a certified copy is then presented directly to the holder of the decedent’s property: no probate court filing is required for the § 2-1-201 affidavit itself.. Real estate: No: the § 2-1-201 affidavit reaches only tangible personal property and instruments evidencing debts/stock/choses in action. Wyoming has a separate mechanism for real property: W.S. § 2-1-205, a court application for a decree of summary distribution..
The verdicts
| Instrument | A sworn affidavit: Wyoming’s small-estate mechanism under W.S. § 2-1-201 is presented directly to whoever holds the decedent’s property (bank, broker, etc.), with no court proceeding required for personal property. A separate, broader court-based mechanism (W.S. § 2-1-205) exists for estates that include real property. |
|---|---|
| Wait after death | 30 days |
| Where it goes | The affidavit is filed/recorded with the county clerk of the relevant Wyoming county; a certified copy is then presented directly to the holder of the decedent’s property: no probate court filing is required for the § 2-1-201 affidavit itself. |
| Notarised? | Yes |
| Reaches real estate? | No: the § 2-1-201 affidavit reaches only tangible personal property and instruments evidencing debts/stock/choses in action. Wyoming has a separate mechanism for real property: W.S. § 2-1-205, a court application for a decree of summary distribution. |
| Authority | Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 2-1-201 |
What the statute actually says
“(a) Not earlier than thirty (30) days after the death of a decedent, any person indebted to the decedent or having possession of tangible personal property or an instrument evidencing a debt, obligation, stock or chose in action belonging to the decedent shall make payment of the indebtedness or deliver the tangible personal property or the instrument evidencing the debt, obligation, stock or chose in action to the person or persons claiming to be the distributee or distributees … upon being presented an affidavit … stating: (i) The value of the entire estate located in Wyoming subject to administration, either testate or intestate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000.00).” (W.S. § 2-1-201(a)(i)).
(Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 2-1-201)
The dollar limit
The affidavit must state ‘the value of the entire estate located in Wyoming subject to administration, either testate or intestate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000.00)’: W.S. § 2-1-201(a)(i). No separate/higher figure for a surviving spouse was found.
The form
Yes. The Wyoming Judicial Branch (wyocourts.gov) publishes official free forms, including PPP-02 ‘Intestate Affidavit for Distribution of Personal Property.’ Downloaded and read PPP-02 (Last Form Revision March 2026): confirms notarization required in practice via jurat.
What could not be verified
Fully verified against a primary source: the statutory text was read from the Wyoming Legislative Service Office’s official compiled Title 2 PDF at wyoleg.gov, current as of May 8, 2026. Note the $400,000 figure is materially higher than a $200,000 figure in stale 2021-2023 secondary mirrors: the live, current figure is used here. The official affidavit form (PPP-02) was fetched directly from wyocourts.gov and read in full.
When this route is the wrong one
- The estate is over the limit. Full administration applies, and using the small-estate route anyway does not make it valid.
- There is real estate and this route does not reach it. A house needs the instrument that can actually transfer title.
- Someone disputes it. These procedures assume agreement; a contested estate belongs in front of a judge.
- Debts exceed assets. Paying the wrong creditor first can make you personally liable.
Related: how the process works, step by step · affidavit versus summary administration.
General information drawn from state statutes and official court materials, not legal advice. Probate and small-estate procedure is STATE law and differs in every state; thresholds, waiting periods and forms change, and every figure here is sourced and dated. Using the wrong instrument, or using one before its waiting period has run, can make a transfer ineffective and can expose the person who signs the affidavit to personal liability. We are not a law firm and we sell no forms.
Related: whether Wyoming requires the executor to post a bond.