Wyoming Transfer-on-Death Deed

At a glance

How the deed works

Wyoming authorizes a transfer-on-death (TOD) deed under its own statute — the Nontestamentary Transfer of Real Property on Death Act, Wyo. Stat. § 2-18-101 through § 2-18-106 (enacted 2013). It is not the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, but it works similarly: an owner records a deed naming a grantee beneficiary, and title to the interest vests in that beneficiary only on the owner's death, without probate.

The TOD deed must be executed, acknowledged, and recorded before the owner's death with the county clerk for the county where the property is located (Wyo. Stat. § 2-18-103). When the deed is recorded, the county clerk must forward the grantor's and grantee's names and the property's legal description to the Wyoming Department of Health, Division of Healthcare Financing, within fourteen days. The beneficiary receives no interest during the owner's life and need not sign or be notified.

This is educational information, not legal advice. An attorney licensed in Wyoming or another financial professional can confirm whether a TOD deed fits a particular property and estate plan.

Recording & execution requirements

A transfer-on-death deed only works if it is executed and recorded correctly. In Wyoming:

• Recording before death: Must be recorded before the owner's death.
• Governing statute: Wyo. Stat. § 2-18-101 et seq. Wyo. Stat. tit. 2, ch. 18 — Nontestamentary Transfer of Real Property on Death Act · enacted 2013.

Changing or revoking the deed

A recorded Wyoming TOD deed is revocable during the owner's lifetime and is not revoked by the provisions of a will — so an owner cannot cancel it merely by writing a new will. To change or revoke it, the owner records, before death and with the same county clerk, a later TOD deed, an instrument of revocation, or a deed conveying the property to someone else.

Mortgages, Medicaid & community property

Existing mortgages and liens

A TOD deed passes the property subject to all mortgages, liens, and other encumbrances existing at the owner's death. The grantee beneficiary takes title burdened by those obligations, and secured creditors retain their claims against the property.

Medicaid estate recovery

A TOD deed does not by itself avoid Medicaid estate recovery — and Wyoming's statute even requires the county clerk to report each recorded TOD deed to the Department of Health's Division of Healthcare Financing, the agency that administers Medicaid recovery. Because the recoverable estate's scope depends on current state rules, an owner or beneficiary connected to Medicaid long-term-care benefits should confirm the treatment with that division before relying on the deed.

Community property

Wyoming is a common-law (separate-property) state. Wyoming is a common-law (separate-property) state, not a community-property state. Spouses own property by title, and a married owner's TOD deed transfers only that owner's interest. Where property is held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, the surviving co-owner generally takes first, so a TOD deed on such property typically operates only if the co-owner predeceases.

State-specific quirks

Where to read next

• Wyoming estate & inheritance tax — whether Wyoming taxes what you leave behind, and the small-estate probate ceiling, each figure cited to the statute.
• The Executor & Heir’s Guide — the probate deadlines for Wyoming, cited to the controlling statute.
• Funding a revocable trust — a common way to keep many kinds of property out of probate.
• ← Back to the transfer-on-death deed comparison

Sources & methodology