What is the small estate limit in Wyoming?

$400,000 for the entire estate less liens and encumbrances, increased from $200,000 effective July 1, 2025. It is among the highest thresholds in the country, and older guides still show the old figure.

Does the Wyoming route cover real property?

Yes, through summary distribution under W.S. 2-1-205, which expressly covers personal or real property including mineral interests. The affidavit route under 2-1-201 covers personal property only.

How long do I have to wait?

Thirty days from the death before filing an application for a decree of summary distribution, and the same thirty days before using the personal property affidavit.

How do objections work?

Notice is published, and creditors or other inheritors must file an objection within the later of 20 days after mailing or 30 days after first publication. Without objection the court enters a decree passing title.

Is there a Medicaid notice requirement?

Yes. If the decedent received state medical assistance, a copy of the request must go to the state department of health within 10 days of first publishing notice in a newspaper.

Wyoming Small Estate: A $400,000 Threshold That Covers Land

General information, not legal advice. Wyoming raised this threshold in 2025 and many published guides still show the old figure. Confirm current requirements with the district court in the decedent's county.

Wyoming is the most generous state in the country here: the threshold reached $400,000 on July 1, 2025, up from $200,000, and unlike almost everywhere else the summary route reaches real property and mineral interests rather than just bank accounts. A ranch family that would face full probate in a neighbouring state can often use it.

Find your Wyoming route ↓

What the $400,000 covers

Under W.S. 2-1-205, where a person dies owning personal or real property, including mineral interests, and the entire estate including personal property does not exceed four hundred thousand dollars less liens and encumbrances, the distributees may file an application for a decree of summary distribution. The Wyoming Judicial Branch states the same test plainly: real and personal property value cannot exceed $400,000. Non-probate assets stay outside the count entirely, which matters more at this scale than at most; an IRA worth $450,000 that names a child as beneficiary does not count against the ceiling, and the rest of the estate may still qualify.

Two routes, and which one you need

Wyoming runs the affidavit and the court decree side by side. W.S. 2-1-201 is distribution by affidavit, used for personal property, presented directly and requiring no court proceeding; it is what transfers a bank account or, with the distributee affidavit and the original title, a vehicle at the MVD. W.S. 2-1-205 is summary distribution, a district court application used when real property or mineral interests are in play, and it is the one that produces a decree capable of passing title to land. Deciding between them is simply a question of what kind of property you need to move, and an estate with both may use each in its own lane.

Notice, objections and the decree

The court route trades speed for a notice period. The application must be sworn and signed by the distributees, state the relationship and the legal basis for entitlement, and fully describe any real property including mineral interests, with a sworn value statement attached from someone holding no legal interest in it. Notice is then published. Creditors or other inheritors must file an objection within the later of twenty days after mailing or thirty days after first publication, and if none arrives the court enters a decree of summary distribution allowing title to pass. If someone objects, the court holds a hearing. Filing fees run around a hundred and sixty dollars, and the process commonly finishes in two to four months.

The Medicaid step, and the old figure

One requirement is easy to miss: where the decedent received state medical assistance, a copy of the request must be given to the state department of health within ten days of first publishing notice in the newspaper. Skipping it leaves the filing incomplete. And a word on sources, because Wyoming's increase is recent: plenty of guides, including some updated in 2026, still describe the threshold as $200,000, which was correct until July 2025. If an estate sits between the two figures, it now qualifies where it previously would not, so a family told a couple of years ago that probate was unavoidable may want to look again.

Wyoming small estate questions

What is the limit?: $400,000 for the entire estate less liens, raised from $200,000 effective July 1, 2025. Older guides still show the old figure.
Does it cover real property?: Yes, through summary distribution under W.S. 2-1-205, which covers real property including mineral interests. The affidavit under 2-1-201 is personal property only.
How long do I wait?: Thirty days from the death for either route.
How do objections work?: Within the later of 20 days after mailing or 30 days after first publication. Without objection the court enters a decree passing title.
Is there a Medicaid notice?: Yes, to the state department of health within 10 days of first publishing notice, where the decedent received state medical assistance.

Written by the Trámites Notariales US editorial team, based on W.S. 2-1-201 and 2-1-205 and Wyoming Judicial Branch guidance. The threshold rose in July 2025; verify before relying on older sources.