✓ Verified September 2026
To contest a will in Wyoming, you file in the probate court within a fixed window and prove one of a short list of legal grounds. This guide gives the Wyoming answer in plain English, and it starts with the deadline, because that is the fact that ends more cases than any other. All facts are from Wyoming law, verified as of September 2026.
In This Wyoming Guide:
Contest a Will in Wyoming: At a Glance
Here are the Wyoming facts that decide whether you can contest a will in Wyoming:
| Deadline to contest | 3 months (90 days) — an action to set aside or contest the probate of a will must be filed within 3 months from the date of the FIRST PUBLICATION of the notice of probate, or it is forever barred. W.S. 2-6-301 (petition to revoke must be filed “within the time designated in the notice provided for in W.S. 2-6-122 or 2-7-201”); the 3-month period is fixed by the statutory notice forms in W.S. 2-7-201 (formal administration) and W.S. 2-6-122 (probate of will without administration). If no petition is filed in that window, W.S. 2-6-301 makes the probate of the will conclusive. |
| What starts the clock | Date of the first publication of the published notice that the will was admitted to probate — not the date of death, not the date of mailed notice to heirs. Under W.S. 2-7-201 the personal representative publishes the notice of admission of the will to probate and appointment once a week for 3 consecutive weeks; the 3-month clock runs from the first of those publications. Where the will is probated without administration under W.S. 2-6-122, the clock likewise runs from first publication of that notice. |
| Who can contest | “Any person interested” in the estate may contest — W.S. 2-6-301. In practice this means intestate heirs who would take more if the will fell, beneficiaries named in the will, and beneficiaries under a prior will — anyone with a direct pecuniary interest that would be affected by the outcome. W.S. 2-6-302 requires the clerk to notify all legatees, devisees, and known heirs of the contest. General estate creditors are not typical will contestants in Wyoming; their remedy is the claims process under Title 2, Chapter 7, Article 7. |
| No-contest clause | YES — enforced, and Wyoming is a minority state with NO probable-cause or good-faith exception. EGW and AW v. First Federal Savings Bank of Sheridan, 2018 WY 25, 413 P.3d 106 (Wyo. 2018): the Wyoming Supreme Court held a no-contest clause does not violate public policy, that a testator may attach lawful conditions to a testamentary gift, and expressly rejected the argument that a contest brought in good faith with probable cause escapes forfeiture. Wyoming did not adopt Uniform Probate Code § 3-905 (the probable-cause exception). Courts therefore look to the language of the clause itself to decide whether the action filed triggers forfeiture. This makes filing a contest in Wyoming meaningfully riskier for a named beneficiary than in most states — you may forfeit your entire inheritance even if the challenge was sincere. Check with a licensed Wyoming attorney before filing if you are a beneficiary under a will containing such a clause. |
| What the filing is called | “Petition to revoke the probate of the will” (also called a petition to set aside or contest the will) — a written petition filed in the same court in which the will was proved, containing the petitioner’s allegations against the validity of the will or against the sufficiency of the proof, and praying that the probate be revoked. W.S. 2-6-301. Upon filing, a summons is served on the executors and the clerk mails notice with a copy of the petition to all legatees, devisees, and known heirs; the summons, service, and proceedings are governed by the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure. W.S. 2-6-302. |
| Court | The Wyoming District Court sitting in probate for the county where the estate is being administered. Wyoming has no separate probate or surrogate’s court. W.S. 2-2-101 gives the district courts exclusive original jurisdiction of all matters relating to the probate and contest of wills, and provides that the subject-matter jurisdiction of the district court sitting in probate (referred to in Title 2 as the “probate court”) is coextensive with its jurisdiction in any civil action. The court that granted letters has exclusive jurisdiction over the settlement of that estate. |
| Jury trial | YES. W.S. 2-6-303 expressly contemplates a jury: “If upon trial, the jury, or if no jury, the court decides the will is invalid or that it is not sufficiently proved to be the last will of the testator, the probate shall be annulled and revoked.” W.S. 2-6-302 makes the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure applicable, so a jury must be demanded under W.R.C.P. 38 or the right is waived. |
| Typical cost | UNVERIFIED — no Wyoming-specific published fee data from the courts or the Wyoming State Bar was located. Costs vary widely with whether the case settles, whether experts (physicians, handwriting analysts) are needed, and whether it is tried to a jury. Ask a licensed Wyoming attorney for a written fee estimate for your county. |
The Deadline to Contest a Will in Wyoming
The window is short in some states and long in others, and it is measured from a specific event rather than from the day you learned about the will. That is why the first thing to find out is the date the will was admitted and whether you received formal notice. If the deadline has not run, everything else on this page is available to you.
If it has, the remaining options are narrow and usually involve proving you never got the notice the law required.
Grounds to Contest a Will in Wyoming
Lack of testamentary capacity (the testator must be of legal age and sound mind, W.S. 2-6-101); undue influence; fraud; duress/coercion; improper execution — failure to meet the signing and 2-competent-witness requirements of W.S. 2-6-112; forgery; revocation by a later will or by physical act (W.S. 2-6-117) or by divorce/annulment (W.S. 2-6-118); and, per W.S. 2-6-301/2-6-303, that the instrument “is not sufficiently proved to be the last will of the testator.”
Who has to prove what: The contestant carries the burden. On undue influence, Wyoming requires clear proof, and the Wyoming Supreme Court applies the four-part Peterson v.
McMicken test — the contestant must show (1) a relationship between the alleged influencer and the decedent affording an opportunity to control the testamentary act, (2) that the decedent’s condition permitted subversion of free will, (3) activity by the person charged, and (4) that the person unduly profited as a beneficiary under the will.
Wyoming holds that a will deliberately made by a person of sound mind is not to be lightly set aside; evidence must show the testator’s free agency was destroyed and another’s volition substituted. A distinct Wyoming rule creating an automatic presumption of undue influence from a confidential relationship alone was NOT verified — UNVERIFIED on that point. On execution, a self-proved will under W.S.
2-6-114 is admitted without witness testimony, so the contestant must overcome that showing.
Who Can Contest a Will in Wyoming
“Any person interested” in the estate may contest — W.S. 2-6-301. In practice this means intestate heirs who would take more if the will fell, beneficiaries named in the will, and beneficiaries under a prior will — anyone with a direct pecuniary interest that would be affected by the outcome. W.S. 2-6-302 requires the clerk to notify all legatees, devisees, and known heirs of the contest.
General estate creditors are not typical will contestants in Wyoming; their remedy is the claims process under Title 2, Chapter 7, Article 7. Being unhappy with the will is not standing; losing something because of it is. Check the earlier will and the intestate rules for Wyoming before filing, because they decide whether you are an interested person.
No-Contest Clauses in Wyoming
YES — enforced, and Wyoming is a minority state with NO probable-cause or good-faith exception. EGW and AW v. First Federal Savings Bank of Sheridan, 2018 WY 25, 413 P.3d 106 (Wyo.
2018): the Wyoming Supreme Court held a no-contest clause does not violate public policy, that a testator may attach lawful conditions to a testamentary gift, and expressly rejected the argument that a contest brought in good faith with probable cause escapes forfeiture. Wyoming did not adopt Uniform Probate Code § 3-905 (the probable-cause exception).
Courts therefore look to the language of the clause itself to decide whether the action filed triggers forfeiture. This makes filing a contest in Wyoming meaningfully riskier for a named beneficiary than in most states — you may forfeit your entire inheritance even if the challenge was sincere. Check with a licensed Wyoming attorney before filing if you are a beneficiary under a will containing such a clause.
The Steps to Contest a Will in Wyoming
Step one is the deadline check above. Step two is evidence: the medical records around the signing date, the names of the witnesses, the drafting lawyer’s file, and the financial records that show who benefited.
Step three is the filing — “Petition to revoke the probate of the will” (also called a petition to set aside or contest the will) — a written petition filed in the same court in which the will was proved, containing the petitioner’s allegations against the validity of the will or against the sufficiency of the proof, and praying that the probate be revoked. W.S. 2-6-301.
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Upon filing, a summons is served on the executors and the clerk mails notice with a copy of the petition to all legatees, devisees, and known heirs; the summons, service, and proceedings are governed by the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure. W.S. 2-6-302.. Step four is discovery and, in most cases, a settlement conference; the small minority that reach trial are decided by a jury if requested.
Settling Instead of Fighting
YES — contests are commonly resolved by negotiated family settlement agreements and by mediation, but through general contract law and civil procedure rather than a dedicated Wyoming will-contest settlement statute. Because W.S. 2-6-302 makes the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure govern the proceeding, W.R.C.P. 16.3 (Alternative Dispute Resolution) applies and the district court may refer the matter to mediation or other ADR.
Any agreed distribution is then implemented through the decree of distribution in the probate. Note: Wyoming’s statutory nonjudicial settlement agreement provision, W.S. 4-10-111, sits in the Uniform Trust Code and governs TRUSTS, not the probate of wills. No Title 2 statute specifically authorizing family settlement agreements for will contests was verified.
Other Wyoming rules: (1) NO ante-mortem/pre-death will validation — Wyoming has no living-probate procedure; a will can only be challenged after death and after it is offered for probate. (2) NO probable-cause exception to no-contest clauses (EGW v. First Federal, 2018 WY 25) — a significant departure from the majority rule and from UPC § 3-905, which Wyoming never adopted. (3) Self-proved wills: under W.S.
2-6-114 a will made self-proven by the testator’s acknowledgment and witnesses’ notarized affidavits may be admitted without calling the subscribing witnesses; if the will is not self-proving, proof may be made by oral or written testimony of one or more subscribing witnesses (W.S. 2-6-205). (4) No separate probate court — district courts sit in probate with full civil jurisdiction (W.S. 2-2-101). (5) The 3-month bar is absolute: W.S.
2-6-301 makes the probate conclusive if no petition is filed in time. (6) A will may be probated without administration under W.S. 2-6-122, and that shorter track still carries the same 3-month contest window from first publication. (7) On revocation, the executor’s powers cease but the executor is not liable for acts done in good faith before revocation (W.S. 2-6-304).
The Evidence That Wins or Loses a Will Contest
Capacity cases turn on the weeks around the signing: the medical chart, prescriptions, a dementia diagnosis, and what the drafting lawyer and the witnesses saw that day. A will signed in a lawyer’s office with two disinterested witnesses and a self-proving affidavit is hard to attack; a will signed at a kitchen table with the main beneficiary present is not.
Undue influence cases turn on the relationship — who drove the parent to the appointment, who chose the lawyer, who was in the room, and whether the new will departed sharply from earlier ones and from what the parent said to other people.
Improper execution is the narrowest ground and the cleanest: Wyoming sets exact witness and signature rules, and a will that misses them fails regardless of what the signer intended. Before you contest a will in Wyoming, gather the prior wills, the medical releases, and the names of everyone at the signing.
Most of that evidence has to be requested formally once the case is filed, and the deadline does not wait for it.
What to Expect When You Contest a Will in Wyoming
A will contest is a lawsuit about the document, not about fairness. When you contest a will in Wyoming, the court asks whether the person who signed it had capacity, signed it freely, and signed it correctly. It does not ask whether the split was reasonable. That is why the strongest cases rest on medical records and witness accounts from the weeks around the signing.
Most families who contest a will in Wyoming settle. Courts encourage it, many states have family settlement rules that let the heirs agree to a different division, and a settlement avoids the cost and delay of trial. The deadline, the grounds, and the no-contest clause above are the three facts that set your bargaining position before any of that begins.
You don’t have to do this alone
If you are settling a loved one’s estate in Wyoming, your state’s probate court self-help center and free legal-aid offices can walk you through the process at no cost. For an active probate or a deadline, talk to a licensed probate attorney in your state.
Key Takeaways: Contest a Will in Wyoming
- The deadline is everything: the window to contest a will in Wyoming closes on a fixed schedule, and the court cannot reopen it for a late but valid claim.
- Grounds are specific: you contest a will in Wyoming on capacity, undue influence, fraud, duress, or bad execution, never on unfairness alone.
- Standing first: only an interested person can contest a will in Wyoming; check whether you inherit under the prior will or the intestate rules.
- Read the no-contest clause: whether the state enforces it decides how much risk it takes to contest a will in Wyoming.
- Evidence is medical and financial: records, witnesses to the signing, and the drafting lawyer’s file decide most cases when you contest a will in Wyoming.
- Settlement is common: most families who contest a will in Wyoming settle before trial, often through the state’s family settlement rules.
- Find the admission date: the day the will was admitted is the day the clock to contest a will in Wyoming usually starts.
- Prior wills matter twice: they give you standing to contest a will in Wyoming and show how far the last will departed from the pattern.
- Notice defects are a lifeline: if you never got the required notice, you may still contest a will in Wyoming after the ordinary deadline.
- Self-proved wills are harder: a will with a notarized witness affidavit raises the bar to contest a will in Wyoming on execution grounds.
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Official Wyoming Sources & Resources
- Wyoming Probate Court: https://www.wyocourts.gov/
- Wyoming Will Contest Statute: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title02.pdf (Wyoming Legislature, Title 2 — Wills, Decedents’ Estates and Probate Code; see Ch. 6 Art. 3 §§ 2-6-301 through 2-6-304, § 2-6-122, and § 2-7-201)
- Internal Revenue Service — Estate Tax: irs.gov
- Cornell Legal Information Institute: law.cornell.edu/wex
This Wyoming guide was last verified against official sources in September 2026. Laws change — verify with your state court or a licensed attorney.
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Disclaimer: This guide is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Estate, probate, and tax laws change and vary by state and county. Verify current rules and dollar figures with your state’s court, statute, or a licensed attorney or tax professional before acting. For urgent matters like an active probate or a tax deadline, consult a licensed professional in your state right away.