WYOMING PROBATE
Independent Personal Representative Services
Professional estate administration for Wyoming probate attorneys and their clients.
You manage the probate. I manage the estate.
A defined fiduciary assignment for estates that need an experienced, independent personal representative while Wyoming counsel remains responsible for legal representation and management of the probate proceeding.
A Complementary Role for Wyoming Probate Counsel
Probate Counsel
- Advises on Wyoming probate law
- Prepares pleadings and court filings
- Manages hearings and legal deadlines
- Advises on claims, sales and distributions
- Handles contested legal matters
- Guides the estate through closing
Independent Personal Representative
- Takes control of estate property and records
- Identifies, secures and inventories assets
- Coordinates appraisals, title work and property care
- Administers routine creditor and expense matters with counsel
- Maintains estate records and accounting support
- Implements approved transactions, distributions and closing
The referring attorney ordinarily remains probate counsel. This service is designed to solve the fiduciary-administration problem, not to displace the attorney-client relationship.
When an Independent PR Can Help
INDEPENDENCE
No Suitable Family Fiduciary
When beneficiaries are unwilling, unavailable, conflicted or simply do not want the administrative burden.
PROPERTY
Complex Wyoming Assets
Real estate, ranch land, minerals, royalties, leases, business interests, title questions and multi-generational ownership.
ADMINISTRATION
Records Need Reconstruction
When the estate requires organized investigation before counsel can resolve ownership, claims or distribution issues.
A Finite Fiduciary Assignment
Personal-representative work is intentionally different from long-term trust management. The objective is to accept responsibility for an estate, administer it correctly, account for the work, distribute the property and conclude the appointment.
- Establish authority. Work with probate counsel through appointment and issuance of letters.
- Secure the estate. Protect property, records, accounts and physical assets.
- Identify and inventory. Determine what the decedent owned and what obligations remain.
- Administer. Coordinate valuations, maintenance, claims, taxes, property transactions and professional services.
- Account. Maintain a traceable record of receipts, expenses, decisions and distributions.
- Distribute and close. Complete the administration with counsel and deliver the net estate to those entitled to receive it.
Long-term trustee and investment-management appointments are generally not accepted.
Wyoming Statutory Compensation
Wyoming law establishes compensation for ordinary personal-representative services based on the amount of the decedent’s probate estate accounted for. Under Wyo. Stat. § 2-7-803, the schedule is:
| Probate estate tier | Statutory rate |
|---|---|
| First $1,000 | 10% |
| Over $1,000 through $5,000 | 5% |
| Over $5,000 through $20,000 | 3% |
| Over $20,000 | 2% |
The court may allow additional just and reasonable fees for extraordinary services necessary to proper administration and distribution. No personal-representative fee is paid without court order. See Wyo. Stat. §§ 2-7-803 and 2-7-805.
Wyoming separately provides compensation for the attorney for the estate under Wyo. Stat. § 2-7-804. The personal representative and probate attorney therefore perform distinct compensated functions. The statute also permits lower negotiated fees, and court approval governs payment.
Experience Suited to Property-Rich Estates
Christopher M. Sullivan brings decades of legal, land, title, mineral, leasing and contractual experience to estate administration. His background includes approximately fifty years in the oil and gas industry and extensive work with Wyoming property interests.
The value of that experience is practical: an estate asset is not merely a line on an inventory. A mineral interest, royalty, lease, fractional ownership interest, ranch tract or old contract may require investigation before it can be valued, administered or distributed correctly.
Professional status: former Wyoming attorney; Colorado attorney. This service is offered as fiduciary estate administration, not as Wyoming legal representation. Wyoming legal advice and court representation are provided by appropriately authorized Wyoming probate counsel.
Referral and Acceptance Process
- Attorney referral. Counsel identifies an estate that may benefit from an independent PR.
- Preliminary review. Review the will, known assets, liabilities, beneficiaries, conflicts, property and expected scope.
- Acceptance decision. Determine whether the assignment is appropriate and whether conditions, bond or additional professional support are needed.
- Court appointment. Wyoming counsel manages the appointment process.
- Estate administration. The PR manages the estate while counsel manages the probate and provides Wyoming legal advice.
- Distribution and closing. Complete the accounting, distributions and discharge through the probate process.
For Wyoming Probate Attorneys
You remain probate counsel. I serve as the independent personal representative.
If an estate needs a capable fiduciary but you or the family do not want to assume the PR role, West Sussex can evaluate whether an independent appointment is appropriate.
Please provide only a general description in the initial inquiry and do not transmit confidential estate records until an appropriate review and engagement process is established.
Primary Wyoming Authorities
- Wyoming Probate Code, Title 2
- Wyo. Stat. § 2-7-801 — policy favoring prompt administration; one-year completion rule subject to good cause and court order.
- Wyo. Stat. § 2-7-802 — reasonable and necessary administration expenses and prudence standard.
- Wyo. Stat. § 2-7-803 — personal-representative compensation.
- Wyo. Stat. § 2-7-804 — attorney-for-estate compensation.
- Wyo. Stat. § 2-7-805 — court allowance and payment of PR and attorney fees.
This page provides general information about a proposed professional fiduciary service. Appointment, authority, compensation and administration are governed by the decedent’s estate plan, Wyoming law and orders of the probate court. Nothing on this page creates an attorney-client or fiduciary relationship.
