Who Inherits Without a Will in Wyoming

When someone dies in Wyoming without a will, the state's intestate succession laws decide who gets what. These rules under W.S. 2-4-101 follow a strict hierarchy — and the results often surprise families, especially surviving spouses who assume they inherit everything.

The Surviving Spouse Does Not Always Get 100%

The most common misconception in Wyoming intestate succession is that the surviving spouse inherits the entire estate. That is only true if the deceased had no living descendants.

Here is how Wyoming actually distributes an intestate estate:

Spouse and descendants (children or grandchildren): The surviving spouse receives exactly 50% of the intestate property. The descendants split the remaining 50% equally among themselves. If a child predeceased the parent but left their own children, those grandchildren inherit their parent's share.

Spouse, no descendants: The surviving spouse inherits 100% of the intestate property.

Descendants, no spouse: The children inherit 100%, divided equally. If a child has predeceased the parent, their share passes to their own children.

No spouse, no descendants: The estate passes to the decedent's parents and siblings in equal shares. If no parents or siblings survive, the estate moves to grandparents and their descendants.

The 50/50 Split Catches Families Off Guard

The spouse-and-children split is where Wyoming diverges from many people's expectations. In a typical scenario: a husband dies without a will, leaving a wife and two adult children. The wife receives 50% of the probate estate. Each child receives 25%.

If the primary asset is the family home, this can create an immediate practical problem. The surviving spouse may need to buy out the children's combined 50% interest, or the property may need to be sold. This is one of the strongest arguments for having a will or using Transfer on Death deeds to bypass intestate rules entirely.

Half-Blood Relatives and Stepchildren

Wyoming law includes two important distinctions that affect inheritance:

Half-blood relatives — siblings, children, or other relatives who share only one parent with the decedent — inherit in the exact same capacity as full-blood relatives. A half-sibling has the same inheritance rights as a full sibling under Wyoming intestate law.

Foster children and unadopted stepchildren have no statutory right to inherit under intestate succession. Even if a stepchild was raised from infancy by the deceased, without formal adoption, they receive nothing under intestate law. Only biological or legally adopted children qualify.

The Killer Rule

Wyoming strictly enforces a "Killer Rule" under W.S. § 2-14-101. Any individual who feloniously kills the decedent is legally barred from receiving any share of their property — whether through intestate succession, a will, joint tenancy, life insurance, or any other transfer mechanism. The killer is treated as if they predeceased the victim.

What Counts as "Intestate Property"

Not all of a deceased person's assets are subject to intestate succession. Only probate-eligible assets — those without a designated beneficiary or survivorship feature — pass through the intestate system.

Assets that bypass intestate succession entirely:

• Life insurance with a named beneficiary
• Retirement accounts (401k, IRA) with named beneficiaries
• Joint tenancy property (passes to surviving co-owner)
• Transfer on Death deeds for real estate
• Payable-on-death bank accounts
• Vehicle beneficiary designations under SF0039

A person can die "intestate" as to their probate estate while having most of their wealth pass directly to intended recipients through these non-probate channels. This is why estate planning with TOD deeds and beneficiary designations is so critical in Wyoming — it lets you control who inherits without needing a will.

What to Do If Someone Died Without a Will

If you are handling an estate where the deceased had no will, the intestate succession rules determine the distribution, but you still need to follow Wyoming's procedural requirements. For estates under the $400,000 small estate threshold, the Summary Distribution procedure (W.S. 2-1-205) provides a simplified path. For estates above that threshold, formal probate is required.

The Wyoming Funeral Laws & Consumer Rights Guide covers intestate succession alongside every other post-death requirement — from disposition and death certificates through estate distribution — so your family can handle the entire process in the right order.

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