How to Remove an Executor in Wyoming — Grounds, Steps, and Deadlines (2026)

✓ Verified September 2026

To remove an executor in Wyoming, you ask the court that appointed the personal representative (Wyo. Stat. Ann. 2-1-301 uses “personal representative” as the umbrella term; an “executor” is the personal representative named in a will, an “administrator” is one appointed in intestacy or where no executor qualifies) to take the job away, and the court will do it only on a ground the statute recognizes.

This guide gives the Wyoming answer in plain English: the grounds, who has standing, what the filing is called, what the court can do the same day to protect the estate, and what happens after. All facts are from Wyoming law, verified as of September 2026.

Remove an Executor in Wyoming: At a Glance

Here are the Wyoming facts that decide most requests to remove an executor in Wyoming:

When a Court Will Let You Remove an Executor in Wyoming

An executor who is slow, unfriendly, or making decisions you disagree with is not, by itself, removable. Courts appoint a personal representative (Wyo. Stat. Ann. 2-1-301 uses “personal representative” as the umbrella term; an “executor” is the personal representative named in a will, an “administrator” is one appointed in intestacy or where no executor qualifies) to carry out the will, and they protect that appointment.

What changes the picture is a breach of duty: money missing or mixed with the executor’s own, an inventory or accounting that was never filed, a sale to a relative below value, a refusal to communicate with beneficiaries for months, a conflict of interest, or a conviction or incapacity that makes the job impossible.

Every state’s statute lists the grounds, and the request to remove an executor in Wyoming succeeds when the facts fit one of them.

Grounds to Remove an Executor in Wyoming

Under 2-3-127 the court, commissioner or clerk of court acts where the personal representative (1) has wasted, embezzled or mismanaged, or is about to waste or embezzle, estate property; (2) has committed or is about to commit a fraud upon the estate; (3) is incompetent to act; (4) has permanently removed from the state; (5) has wrongfully neglected the estate;

or (6) has long neglected to perform any act as personal representative.

Additional statutory ground: neglect or refusal to file the inventory or appraisement within the time allowed (2-7-409). Separate ground for revocation: a relative with higher statutory priority applies where letters of administration went to someone outside the priority list (2-3-132). Wyoming’s removal statute does not list criminal conviction as a standalone ground — UNVERIFIED as a separate enumerated ground.

The Steps to Remove an Executor in Wyoming

Step one is to confirm you have standing — Any person interested in the estate may appear at the hearing and file written allegations showing the personal representative should be removed (2-3-129) — this reaches beneficiaries, heirs, devisees, creditors and co-fiduciaries. The court, court commissioner or clerk of court may also act on its own knowledge or on credible information, with no petition from a private party required (2-3-127).

A surviving spouse, child, father, mother, brother or sister with prior right to administer — or any competent person at their written request — may petition for revocation under 2-3-132.. Step two is the paper trail: write to the personal representative (Wyo. Stat. Ann.

2-1-301 uses “personal representative” as the umbrella term; an “executor” is the personal representative named in a will, an “administrator” is one appointed in intestacy or where no executor qualifies) asking for the inventory, the accounting, and an explanation, and keep the letter. Step three is the filing — There is no single statewide form name.

In practice the filing is a written petition (or motion) to revoke letters / remove personal representative, or written “allegations in writing showing that the personal representative should be removed” under 2-3-129, filed in the existing probate matter in the district court of the county where the estate is being administered.

Under 2-3-132 it is a “petition for revocation of letters” by a prior claimant. — with the ground stated and the documents attached. Step four is the hearing, where the personal representative (Wyo. Stat. Ann. 2-1-301 uses “personal representative” as the umbrella term; an “executor” is the personal representative named in a will, an “administrator” is one appointed in intestacy or where no executor qualifies) answers and the court decides.

Many courts let you ask for interim protection in the same filing, which is the part families miss.

Protecting the Estate While the Court Decides

The court, commissioner or clerk “shall by order suspend the powers of the personal representative until the matter is investigated” (2-3-127) — suspension is mandatory once the officer has reason to believe a listed ground exists, and it happens before the show-cause hearing. Acts done before revocation remain valid (2-3-126).

When a personal representative is suspended or removed, the district court appoints a special administrator to collect and take charge of the estate and exercise all powers necessary for its preservation; the appointment may be made at any time without notice (2-7-302). The court may also compel the representative’s attendance and answers under oath (2-3-131), and additional bond may be required in connection with estate transactions (2-3-105).

What Happens After Removal

On revocation, “letters of administration [are] granted anew as the case may require” (2-3-128; 2-3-129). If the will names a successor or alternate executor who is competent and willing, that person is appointed. Otherwise the court applies the statutory priority in Wyo. Stat. Ann.

2-4-201: (i) surviving husband or wife, or a competent person he or she requests; (ii) children; (iii) father or mother; (iv) brothers or sisters; (v) grandchildren; (vi) next of kin entitled to share in the distribution; (vii) creditors; (viii) any legally competent person. A nonresident may not be appointed administrator unless a Wyoming resident is appointed coadministrator (2-4-201).

Where a prior-priority relative petitions under 2-3-132, if the applicant’s right is established and the applicant is competent, letters are granted to the applicant and the former representative’s letters are revoked (2-3-134). A special administrator may serve in the interim (2-7-302).

Repaying losses: Yes — a removed or defaulting personal representative can be held financially responsible. Wyo. Stat. Ann.

2-7-409 provides that on failure to file the inventory or appraisement the court may revoke the letters “in addition to all other remedies and penalties provided in this code, and the personal representative is liable on his bond for any injury to the estate or rights of any person interested therein arising from such failure.” Wyo. Stat. Ann.

2-7-403 separately provides that a representative who does not return the inventory within 120 days may be adjudged in contempt of court and fined, with any fine paid into the corpus of the estate. Recovery is typically pursued against the representative and the probate bond.

Many estates can seek this relief, but whether a surcharge is ordered in a particular estate is a decision for the district court — check with your county clerk of district court or a licensed Wyoming attorney.

Other Wyoming rules: (1) Suspension first, hearing second — 2-3-127 directs that powers “shall” be suspended pending investigation, so relief can come before any adversarial hearing. (2) A court commissioner or the clerk of district court — not only a judge — may trigger the suspension, and may do so on their own knowledge without any petition (2-3-127).

(3) Inventory is due within 120 days after appointment (2-7-403); missing it exposes the representative to contempt and a fine paid into the estate, and is an independent ground to revoke letters (2-7-409). (4) If the personal representative has left Wyoming or cannot be served, notice of the show-cause hearing may be given by publication (2-3-130).

(5) The court may compel the representative to attend and answer under oath about the estate (2-3-131). (6) Wyoming has no separate surrogate’s or probate court — all probate is heard in district court. (7) A nonresident cannot serve as administrator without a Wyoming-resident coadministrator (2-4-201). (8) Actions taken by the representative before revocation remain valid as to third parties (2-3-126).

(9) Notice of admission to probate is published once a week for 3 consecutive weeks, and an action to set aside probate of the will must be brought within 3 months of first publication (2-7-201) — a separate deadline from removal, which has no statutory deadline.

What It Costs and How Long It Takes

The court filing fee to remove an executor in Wyoming is small; the real cost is the hearing. If the personal representative (Wyo. Stat. Ann.

2-1-301 uses “personal representative” as the umbrella term; an “executor” is the personal representative named in a will, an “administrator” is one appointed in intestacy or where no executor qualifies) contests the motion, both sides usually retain counsel, and a contested removal can run several months and several thousand dollars in fees, which the court may or may not order the estate to pay.

Uncontested removals — a fiduciary who has stopped responding or has moved away — are faster and cheaper, and courts grant them routinely when the missed filings are on the record.

Two facts decide the economics. First, the estate’s size: a removal fight over a small estate can consume what is left, so beneficiaries of small estates often ask the court to compel the accounting and set deadlines instead of removing the fiduciary outright. Second, the evidence: a missing inventory is proved with a docket printout, while suspected self-dealing needs bank records and sometimes an appraisal.

The stronger the paper, the shorter the case. Ask the court clerk what the personal representative (Wyo. Stat. Ann.

2-1-301 uses “personal representative” as the umbrella term; an “executor” is the personal representative named in a will, an “administrator” is one appointed in intestacy or where no executor qualifies) has actually filed before deciding which path to take, and get the docket printout in writing — it is the exhibit every remove an executor in Wyoming motion starts with.

What to Expect When You Remove an Executor in Wyoming

A request to remove an executor in Wyoming is a contested proceeding inside the probate case, not a separate lawsuit. The court will want the ground stated plainly, the documents that prove it, and a proposed replacement. Hearings are usually short; the decision turns on whether the executor breached a duty, not on whether the family gets along.

Two things surprise people. The first is that the court can act before the hearing — a bond, a freeze on the estate account, or a special administrator — if the estate is at risk. The second is that the estate keeps running while the motion to remove an executor in Wyoming is pending: creditor deadlines, tax filings, and property upkeep do not pause.

Ask the court to address both in the same filing.

Official Wyoming Sources & Resources

• Wyoming Probate Court: https://www.wyocourts.gov/legal-help-by-topic/probate/
• Wyoming Removal Statute: https://www.wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title02.pdf
• 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.

More Wyoming Estate Guides

• Contest a Will in Wyoming
• Wyoming Probate Process
• Dying Without a Will in Wyoming
• What to Do When an Executor Is Not Doing Their Job
• All State Guides

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.