Wyoming Estate Planning Attorney

Estate planning counsel built on more than 50 years of experience serving families and business owners throughout Wyoming.

If you are considering the preparation of a will, or you are responsible for settling the estate of a loved one, you are confronting decisions of considerable consequence. Sound preparation today provides security for the future and protection for those who depend on you. Davis & Johnson Law Office has helped families in communities across Wyoming with this work for more than five decades. Our Wyoming estate planning lawyer can explain what your situation calls for and prepare the documents to match. Contact our office whenever you would like to begin.

Estate Planning Lawyer Wyoming

Estate planning is the process of creating legal documents that direct your property, your medical care, and the guardianship of your children, all according to your own choices. An estate is simply the sum of what a person owns, large or small.

When someone dies without a will, Wyoming’s intestacy statutes step in and a court assigns the roles. The result is lawful, but it may be far from what the person wanted. A prepared plan replaces guesswork with instructions. Our Wyoming estate planning attorneys help clients make those decisions with a full understanding of the options.

Types of Estate Planning Cases We Handle in Wyoming

Estate planning is rarely about one document. The right set of documents depends on what you own, who depends on you, and what you want to prepare for. We match the tools to the person rather than the other way around. These are the estate planning matters we handle most often for clients across Wyoming.

• Wills. Of every estate document, the will is the one most plans are built around. It directs who receives your property, appoints the executor who will act on your wishes, and can name a guardian for minor children. We prepare each will carefully and confirm that the signing complies with Wyoming law.
• Trusts. A trust allows you to pass property under conditions of your choosing, and it frequently keeps an estate out of probate. Revocable living trusts draw families who value privacy and a quicker transfer. We help you decide whether one belongs in your plan.
• Probate. After a death, an estate ordinarily passes through probate before heirs receive their share. Many executors have never done this before. We handle the petitions, the notices to creditors, and the final accounting so the estate can close.
• Powers of attorney. A financial power of attorney places a person you trust in charge of your money if you cannot manage it yourself. You set how far that authority reaches. We draft it so your agent can act cleanly and without dispute.
• Advance healthcare directives. A healthcare directive states the treatment you want and names the person who speaks for you when you cannot. It removes a wrenching uncertainty from your family. We go through every option in plain language.
• Special needs trusts. Money left directly to a relative with a disability can cancel the benefits that person counts on. A special needs trust is the careful route around that. We structure it to support the beneficiary while maintaining eligibility.
• Asset protection planning. Some clients want their property kept clear of creditors or the expense of extended care. The right method depends on goals and on timing. We review your circumstances and tell you plainly which strategies fit.

Why Choose Davis & Johnson Law Office for Estate Planning in Wyoming?

Five Decades of Estate Work Across Wyoming

The firm has guided Wyoming residents through wills, trusts, and probate since long before many of today’s clients were born. Kelly Davis established the practice and has been a Wyoming lawyer since 1979, concentrating on estate planning, elder law, and asset protection. He is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and has lectured on powers of attorney for the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. Jason Johnson joined the profession in 2014 and adds estate planning work, including matters before the Wyoming Supreme Court. Both hold law degrees from the University of Wyoming College of Law. Because the firm serves communities statewide, our attorneys are at home in courts throughout Wyoming.

Flat Fees Quoted Before We Begin

Our pricing leaves nothing to interpretation. For most estate planning documents, we charge a flat fee and state it before any work starts, with amendments handled separately when they are needed. You will not be surprised by an invoice. For more than 50 years, we have prepared wills, trusts, and directives that Wyoming families have trusted when it matters most.

Understanding Estate Planning Cases

Key Estate Planning Documents and What They Do

Almost every plan is assembled from the same core set of documents. Knowing the function of each makes it easier to recognize a gap in your own:

• Will. Names your heirs and the executor who carries out your wishes. Without one, Wyoming’s intestacy statutes decide for you.
• Living trust. Holds your property and transfers it on the terms you set, often avoiding probate.
• Financial power of attorney. Lets someone you choose handle money matters if you can no longer manage them yourself.
• Healthcare power of attorney. Gives a trusted person the authority to make medical decisions for you.
• Living will. Records your preferences about life-sustaining treatment in advance.
• Beneficiary designations. Set the beneficiaries for accounts such as life insurance and retirement plans, and supersede any conflicting instructions in your will.

The pieces of a plan need to align with each other to do their job. A revocable trust that was never funded after signing, for example, has almost no effect when the time comes. A document frequently absent from otherwise complete plans is a HIPAA authorization, which authorizes the people you name to communicate with your medical providers.

What Are Important Aspects of an Estate Planning Case?

A plan does its job when it is accurate, up to date, and impossible to misread. A few factors usually decide whether it holds up:

• The people you chose years ago may no longer be the right ones for the job.
• A marriage, a divorce, a birth, or a death should each send you back to the documents.
• Wording that is loose or self-contradictory invites argument among the people you leave behind.
• Assets left open to creditors or care costs sometimes need a strategy of their own.

That final point is worth raising early, because there are lawful ways to protect your assets before any claim ever appears. Planning for the cost of long-term care is part of the same conversation, and it is far easier to address before it is urgent. A review of your documents every few years is the simplest way to keep them in good standing.

What Is the Estate Planning Case Timeline?

How long the work takes depends on what it involves. Drafting a set of planning documents tends to be quick. Settling an estate through probate does not. A typical progression is as follows:

• A first consultation to review your assets, your family, and your goals.
• Drafting of every document the plan requires.
• A second meeting to read through the drafts and correct anything that is off.
• A signing appointment that meets Wyoming’s witnessing and notarization rules.
• Probate or trust administration, which begins only after a death.

We provide a realistic estimate for your situation at the outset. Probate in Wyoming often runs several months, and a large or contested estate can take longer. Because executors tend to raise the same concerns, we work through a number of common probate questions early so nothing is a surprise.

What Should You Bring to Your Estate Planning Consultation?

The clearer your picture of what you own, the more we can cover in a single meeting. Bring what you have of the following:

• A general list of your property, accounts, real estate, and any business interests.
• The beneficiary designations currently on your insurance and retirement accounts.
• Any will, trust, or power of attorney you have signed before.
• The names of people you would trust as executor, trustee, or agent.

If some of that is missing, that is fine. The first consultation is mainly a discussion of your goals and how Wyoming law applies to them. There is no rush and no pressure. You will leave with a recommended plan and a clear price, and the decision to move ahead stays yours.

Important Wyoming Legal Resources for Estate Planning Cases

Estate planning in Wyoming rests on state statutes, with federal tax law involved once an estate grows large. Each source below comes from the body that maintains it. If you want some background before reaching out, these official resources are a reliable place to begin:

• The Wyoming Legislature publishes Wyoming’s probate statutes, covering wills, estates, and administration.
• The Wyoming Judicial Branch describes the district courts that oversee probate statewide.
• The IRS sets out the federal estate tax and the threshold for filing a return.
• The IRS also explains estate and gift taxes in broader terms.
• The Wyoming Department of Health describes Medicaid programs tied to long-term care planning.

Read these for general understanding. The way any of it applies depends on the details of your own estate.

Reach Out to Davis & Johnson Law Office to Schedule a Consultation

A sound estate plan starts with one conversation. At Davis & Johnson Law Office, we explain each decision in plain terms and provide a flat-fee quote for most documents before any drafting begins. You will understand the plan and the cost in advance. Contact us to schedule a consultation with a Wyoming estate planning lawyer.

Estate Planning Statistics in Wyoming

A state where one in five people has reached retirement age and where nearly three-quarters of households own their home is a state where real property, rather than cash, is the asset that decides whether an estate moves through probate or passes to heirs privately.

Home values compound that. A house bought decades ago for a fraction of today’s value is often the largest single item in an estate, and it is the item most likely to sit in one spouse’s name alone or to carry a deed nobody has read since closing. Our Wyoming estate planning lawyers review those records before drafting anything.

• Wyoming’s population reached an estimated 588,753 residents as of July 2025, according to Census QuickFacts.
• Persons aged 65 and over make up 20.7% of the state, against roughly 18% nationally.
• The owner-occupied housing rate is 71.8%, among the higher rates in the country.
• The median value of an owner-occupied home in Wyoming is $309,700, up substantially over the last decade.
• The state counts 243,318 households, and older residents cluster in Laramie, Natrona, and Sheridan counties, per the Wyoming healthy aging data report.

Questions to Ask an Estate Planning Lawyer Before Hiring

Most people meet with one estate law attorney, hear a price, and decide. A better approach is to ask the questions below, because the answers tell you more about how the work will proceed and whether your goals will be met.

1. Who drafts my documents, and who will I speak with afterward? Some firms route drafting to staff and the client never speaks with the lawyer again. Ask directly. You want to know whose judgment shapes the provisions and who answers the phone in three years when something changes.
2. What is the total cost, and what falls outside it? A flat quote is only useful if you know its boundaries. Ask what a later amendment costs, whether funding a trust is included, and what happens if your situation turns out to be more involved than it looked at the first meeting.
3. How much of your practice is estate work? Estate planning sits beside wills and probate, trusts, and elder law. A lawyer who works across all four sees how a plan behaves after a death rather than only how it reads on paper.
4. Will you help fund the trust, or is that left to me? This is the single most common failure in estate planning. A revocable trust that was signed but never funded accomplishes very little, and trust management requires retitling accounts and deeds after the documents are executed. Find out who is responsible for that step.
5. What happens to property I own in another state? Real estate outside Wyoming can require a separate proceeding in that state unless the plan addresses it. Ask how the attorney handles out-of-state holdings, because the answer determines whether your family deals with one court or two.
6. How do you handle a beneficiary with a disability? Leaving money directly to a person receiving needs-based benefits can disqualify them. The answer should involve a properly structured trust rather than an informal arrangement with a sibling.
7. What is your approach to creditor exposure and long-term care costs? There are lawful ways to protect your assets from claims, and timing governs which ones remain available. Ask what is possible now versus what becomes unavailable once a need is imminent.
8. How will you handle probate if it becomes necessary? Even a good plan sometimes ends up in court. Ask whether the firm handles uncontested probate or refers it out, and what that costs.
9. How often should I come back? Plans go stale. A marriage, a death, a move, or a property sale all affect the documents, and you want a lawyer who expects to see you again rather than one who treats the signing as the end.
10. Who holds the originals? Ask where the signed documents will live, how your executor will find them, and what the firm does if you move away. A will nobody can locate is functionally a will that was never written.

Wyoming Estate Planning Lawyer FAQs

How much does an estate plan cost in Wyoming?

For most estate planning documents we quote a flat fee before any drafting begins, so you know the figure in advance rather than watching an hourly clock. Amendments to existing documents are handled separately and priced when requested. Probate is billed at two percent of the probate estate plus a flat fee, while summary probate proceeds at an hourly rate. Elder law matters are hourly as well. We explain which structure applies to your situation at the first meeting.

Do I need a trust, or is a will enough?

A will is sufficient for a great many Wyoming families, particularly where the estate is modest and the beneficiaries are straightforward. A trust earns its cost in specific circumstances: property in more than one state, a desire to keep the transfer private, a beneficiary who should not receive a lump sum, or a wish to avoid probate entirely. The honest answer depends on what you own and who receives it. We would rather tell you a will suffices than sell you a trust you do not need.

How often should I update my estate plan?

Every three to five years as a habit, and immediately after a marriage or divorce, a birth or adoption, a death among your named beneficiaries or fiduciaries, a significant change in assets, or a move to another state. The people named in a plan matter as much as the provisions. An executor chosen fifteen years ago may have moved, fallen ill, or simply become the wrong choice.

Does having a will avoid probate?

No, and this is the most persistent misunderstanding in estate planning. A will directs how property passes through probate; it does not bypass the process. What avoids probate is how assets are titled and designated, including jointly held property, accounts with valid beneficiary designations, and property held in a funded trust. A will remains essential even in a plan built to minimize probate, because it catches whatever the other mechanisms miss.

What does probate cost and how long does it take?

Our fee for formal probate is two percent of the probate estate plus a set rate, with court costs and publication fees separate. Timing varies considerably. An uncomplicated estate often concludes in several months once creditor notice periods run. Estates involving real property in multiple counties, a disputed accounting, or a contest among heirs take substantially longer. Wyoming also offers simplified procedures for smaller estates, which we evaluate at the outset.

What happens to property I own in another state?

Real estate is governed by the law of the state where it sits, which can mean a separate proceeding there alongside Wyoming probate. Families are usually surprised by this, and by the cost of running two matters at once. Planning around it in advance is straightforward, typically by placing the property into a trust or retitling it. Bring the deeds.

Who should I name as executor?

Someone organized, reachable, and willing. Those three matter more than legal knowledge, because the attorney handles the legal work. Consider whether the person lives nearby, whether they can manage paperwork and deadlines, and whether naming them will create friction among your other beneficiaries. Always name an alternate. And ask the person first, because an executor who learns of the appointment at the reading is an executor who may decline it.

Is a will I signed in another state valid in Wyoming?

Generally yes, if it was validly executed where it was signed. That said, validity and usefulness are different questions. Terminology, fiduciary powers, and procedure vary between states, and a document drafted for another jurisdiction can create friction in a Wyoming court even when it is accepted. After a move, having the plan reviewed is inexpensive relative to the cost of an executor working around provisions that do not fit.

What happens to my online accounts and digital property?

Email, photographs, cryptocurrency, and domain names present the same problem: your executor may have no lawful authority to reach them, and providers routinely refuse family requests. A plan can grant that authority expressly and direct where credentials are kept. We raise it with every client, because these assets are easy to overlook and often unrecoverable once an account lapses.

Can someone challenge my will?

It happens, though less often than television suggests. Challenges usually allege that the signer lacked capacity, was unduly influenced, or that the document was not executed properly. Careful drafting and a properly conducted signing defeat most of them before they start. Where you anticipate a dispute among your heirs, tell us at the first meeting. There are drafting choices that make a challenge considerably harder to sustain.

Important Resources for Wyoming Estate Planning Cases

Laramie County Probate Court and Local Resources

Probate in Wyoming is heard in district court, organized by judicial district, with the estate filed in the county where the decedent lived. Our office is in Cheyenne, so the First Judicial District handles most of our filings, though we appear in district courts statewide.

• The First Judicial District sits in Cheyenne and hears probate, trust, and guardianship matters for Laramie County.
• Petitions, inventories, and final accountings are filed through the Laramie County clerk of district court.
• Deeds transferring real property are recorded with the county clerk in the county where the land sits, which the Laramie County elected officials directory identifies for this county.
• Wyoming’s simplified procedures for smaller estates can avoid formal administration entirely, and we cover small estate procedures with families whose situations may qualify.

What Are Important Local Resources for Wyoming Estate Planning?

The offices below handle probate filings, property records, and support for older adults and their families. Davis & Johnson Law Office is not affiliated with these organizations and does not endorse them.

• Laramie County Clerk of District Court, (307) 633-4270, where probate matters are filed
• Laramie County Clerk, (307) 633-4268, which records deeds and real property documents
• Wyoming State Law Library, (307) 777-7509, open to the public in Cheyenne
• Aging Division Community Living Section, (307) 777-7995, for services supporting older adults and caregivers
• Long-Term Care Ombudsman, (307) 287-7757, for concerns about care in licensed facilities

About Davis & Johnson Law Office

Kelly S. Davis was raised in Cheyenne and began his career investigating Medicare fraud in Wyoming, work that shaped a practice built around protecting older clients from exploitation. He was instrumental in drafting the only first-party and third-party special needs pooled trusts in the state, served for more than a decade on the board of the Wyoming Guardianship Corporation, and is a charter member of the Academy of Special Needs Planners. He formerly chaired the Wyoming State Bar’s Estate Planning, Elder Law, Trust, and Probate Section. That history is why families bring us the difficult matters rather than only the routine ones, and it shapes how an elder law lawyer approaches a plan here.

What Our Clients Say

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“I am pleased to share our will writing experience working with estate lawyer Jason. From the beginning to the end of the process Jason was professional, and knowledgeable. He made it easy for us to understand. Jason took the time to listen to us and made recommendations that we hadn’t thought of. He used clear communication to where we could understand without the legal numbo-jumbo other lawyers tend to use. He also recommended we did living wills and power of attorneys. The entire process was efficient, and all documents were prepared and executed without unnecessary delay. We highly recommend Jason to anyone seeking trustworthy and reliable guidance for their estate planning. We are grateful for Jason’s support and peace of mind”

— Twyla Evans

Read more reviews on our Google Business Profile.

Additional Resources for Wyoming Estate Planning Cases

• What Happens When You Delay Meeting a Will Lawyer
• Why Proper Will Execution Matters More Than Most Families Realize
• Understanding HIPAA Authorization for Estate Planning
• The 5 Ds That Mean Your Estate Plan Needs Work
• Wyoming’s Small Estate Procedures Explained

Contact Davis & Johnson Law Office

Most estate planning documents are prepared for a flat fee quoted before any drafting starts, with amendments priced separately when you need them. At the first meeting we go through what you own, who depends on you, and what you want to happen, then recommend the documents that fit and tell you what they cost. Contact us to arrange a consultation with a Wyoming estate planning attorney. We respond to new inquiries within a business day.