• Wyoming probate laws govern what happens to a person's estate.Wyoming state contour against blurred USA flag image by Stasys Eidiejus from Fotolia.com
  
  People spend their lifetimes acquiring property. What happens to that property once they die is governed by the probate laws of the state in which they lived. Wyoming, like all other states, has a range of laws covering probate issues. These laws are found in Title 2 of the Wyoming Statutes, generally referred to as the Wyoming Probate Code.
  
  

Intestacy

• There are two possibilities when people die in Wyoming, they die having left behind a last will and testament or they do not. If a person dies without leaving behind a will, they are said to have died intestate. In such cases the property they owned when alive, referred to as the estate, is distributed according to the laws of intestate succession. These laws pre-establish a hierarchy of inheritors who get the decedent's property. Wyoming Statutes 2-4-101 establishes who gets the property based on their relationship to the decedent. For example, 2-4-101(a)(i) states that if the decedent leaves behind a spouse and children, either by whole or half-blood, the spouse gets half the estate while the children receive the other half between them.
  
  

Wills

• To avoid property passing in accordance with the laws of intestate succession, Wyoming residents can draft a last will and testament to dictate for themselves how they want property to pass on. Wyoming Statutes 2-6-101 states that anyone of legal age and who is of sound mind can make a will to dispose of property, subject to paying off debts and the rights of any surviving spouse or children.
  
  Wyoming Statutes 2-6-112 states that all wills must be in writing, and oral or verbal wills are not valid. The will must be written, signed by the testator and witnessed by two competent and disinterested persons. (A disinterested person is someone who does not stand to inherit property under the will or the laws of intestate succession.) However, Wyoming Statutes 2-6-113 also allows for the use of handwritten, also called holographic, wills. If the testator drafts and signs the will in his own handwriting, no witnesses are required.
  
  

Probate Procedures

• The probate process begins once a person dies leaving behind property, known as the estate. The county in which the person lived, not necessarily where the person died, usually has jurisdiction over the probate process. After the person dies, the probate court must appoint someone to act as the personal representative of the estate. This person is called the administrator in intestate estates cases, while executors are those who administer testate estates. Once a personal representative is appointed to administer the estate, it is up to this person to give away property according to the will or the laws of intestate succession. The court plays a limited role in this distribution, only acting to determine if a will is valid and adjudicate any conflicts that arise in the administration process.