Title 3, Guardian And Ward

Preference for appointment of conservator of a minor. (a) The appointment of a qualified and suitable conservator of a minor shall be made in the following order of preference: (i) The parent or parents of the minor; (ii) The person nominated as conservator in the will of the cus…

Appointment of conservator on voluntary petition. (a) The court may appoint a conservator upon the petition by the proposed ward if: (i) The petitioner has reached the age of fourteen (14) years; and (ii) The court determines that the appointment of a conservator is in the best i…

Appointment of a temporary conservator. (a) Upon the filing of a petition for a temporary conservator and after a hearing the court may appoint a temporary conservator subject to any notice and conditions the court prescribes. (b) Every order appointing a temporary conservator sh…

Payment or delivery of property in lieu of conservatorship. (a) Any person under a duty to pay or deliver money or personal property to a minor for whom no conservator has been appointed may pay not more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) per annum or may deliver prop…

Petition for appointment of conservator for absentee. (a) Any person may file with the clerk a petition for the appointment of a conservator of the property of the absent owner when the following conditions exist: (i) A person owns property located in this state and his location …

Original notice governed by rules of civil procedure. Notice of the filing of the petition and of the time and place set for the hearing on the petition shall be served upon the absentee by publication as provided by the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure.

Additional notice governed by rules of civil procedure. (a) Notice of the filing of the petition and of the time and place set for the hearing on the petition shall also be served as provided by the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure on: (i) The spouse and children of the absentee;…

Pleadings and trial; rules of civil procedure. All proceedings for the appointment of a conservator for an absent person shall be governed by the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure and the Wyoming Rules of Evidence.

Appointment of conservator. If the allegations of the petition are proved by a preponderance of the evidence, the court may appoint a conservator.

Appointment of temporary conservator. Upon the filing of a petition for a temporary conservator and after a hearing the court may appoint a temporary conservator subject to any notice and conditions the court prescribes.

Voluntary petition for appointment of conservator; standby basis. Any adult who is of sound mind may execute a petition for the voluntary appointment of a conservator of his property upon the express condition that the petition shall be acted upon by the court only upon the occur…

Petition may nominate conservator. The petition may nominate a person for appointment to serve as conservator, and may request that the appointment be made without bond, or with bond of a certain stated sum. When appointing the conservator the court shall give due regard to the n…

Deposit of petition. The petition may be deposited with any person, firm, bank or trust company selected by the petitioner.

Revocation of petition. Any time before the appointment of a conservator, the petition may be revoked by the petitioner if he is of sound mind. Revocation shall be accomplished by the destruction of the petition by the petitioner or by an instrument of revocation acknowledged by …

Filing petition upon occurrence of conditions. Any time after the deposit of the petition and before its revocation, it may be brought on for hearing upon the filing of a statement verified by the person having possession of the petition showing that the event or the condition pr…

Time of appointment of conservator. At the time the verified statement is filed, the court may appoint the conservator nominated in the petition or may set the petition for hearing on notice prescribed by the court.

Appointment of ancillary or foreign guardians or conservators. (a) When there is no conservatorship, nor any petition therefor pending in this state, a duly qualified foreign conservator or guardian of a nonresident ward may, upon application, be appointed conservator of the prop…

Petition. (a) The petition for appointment of a foreign or ancillary conservator or guardian as conservator in this state shall include: (i) The names and addresses of the nonresident ward and of the nonresident conservator or guardian; (ii) The name and address of the resident c…

Personal property. The court of the county where the nonresident ward has personal property may authorize the foreign conservator or guardian of a nonresident ward to receive the property upon compliance with the provisions of W.S. 2-11-301 through 2-11-303.

Filing of bond. The court may require the foreign or ancillary conservator or guardian to file a bond satisfactory to the court. The foreign or ancillary conservator or guardian shall file with the clerk of court his bond as required by the court of this state.

Order for delivery. Upon the filing of the bond required by the court of this state the court shall order the personal property of the nonresident ward delivered to the foreign conservator or guardian. The foreign conservator or guardian shall execute and file with the court a re…

Recording of bond; notice to court. (a) The clerk shall mail to the court which granted the foreign letters of conservatorship or of guardianship copies of: (i) The letters of conservatorship or guardianship issued by the Wyoming court; (ii) The bond filed with the Wyoming court;…

Designation of conservators; exception. (a) The administrator of the Wyoming life resource center is appointed conservator of the estate of: (i) Each adult admitted to the Wyoming life resource center unless a conservator or other duly authorized agent has already been appointed …

Duration of appointment; bonds. A conservator appointed under this article shall serve as conservator of the estates of the patients or residents of the institution until a successor has been appointed and qualified or until the conservatorship for any individual ward is otherwis…

Authority generally; required reports. (a) The conservator may: (i) Receive money or property of the ward paid or delivered to him; (ii) Disburse funds of the ward necessary for the support, maintenance and general welfare of the ward; (iii) With the consent and approval of the d…

Transfer of funds to court appointed conservator. If a conservator for a minor or incompetent person is appointed by a court of this state after the person has been admitted to the Wyoming life resource center or the Wyoming state hospital, the conservatorship created for the war…

Transfer of funds to successor upon termination of appointment as superintendent. Upon termination of his appointment as superintendent of the institution, a conservator appointed under this article shall transfer to his successor all funds and property which he holds as conserva…

Transfer of funds upon discharge, etc., of minor or incompetent. Upon termination of the conservatorship by the death of the ward or by his discharge from the institution, all assets of the ward in the possession of a conservator appointed under this article shall be delivered to…

General duties of conservator. The conservator of the estate shall protect and preserve it, invest it prudently, account for it as provided in the Wyoming statutes, expend it for the benefit of the ward and perform all other duties required by law. At the termination of the conse…

Inventory of ward's property. Within ninety (90) days after the date of his appointment, or, within additional time allowed by the court, a conservator shall file in the court a verified inventory of all of the property of the ward which has come into his possession or of which h…

Disposition of will by conservator. When the conservator receives an instrument purporting to be the will of the ward he shall immediately deliver it to the court.

Court order to preserve testamentary intent of ward. The court may read the instrument purporting to be the will of the ward which the conservator delivered to the court. With or without notice as it may determine, the court may enter any orders it deems advisable for the proper …

Court to file sealed copy and deliver will to conservator. A copy of an instrument purporting to be the will of a ward coming into the possession of the court under W.S. 3-3-603, shall be made, sealed and deposited in the file of the conservatorship. The original copy of the will…

Powers of conservator without order of court. (a) Without prior order of the court the conservator may: (i) Collect, receive, receipt for any principal or income; (ii) Enforce, defend against or prosecute any claim by or against the ward or the conservator; (iii) Sue on and defen…

Powers of conservator subject to the approval of the court. (a) Upon order of the court after hearing and notice as prescribed by the court the conservator may: (i) Apply any portion of the income or of the estate of the ward for the support of any person for whose support the wa…

Appointment of attorney in compromise of personal injury settlements. Notwithstanding the provisions of W.S. 3-3-607(a)(ii), prior to authorizing a compromise of a claim for damages on account of personal injuries to the ward, the court may order an independent investigation by a…

Powers of conservators; same as fiduciaries. Except as expressly modified in title 3, Wyoming statutes, a conservator has the powers relating to all fiduciaries as provided in title 2, Wyoming statutes.

Breach of contracts. A conservator may breach contracts of the ward entered into by the ward prior to the appointment of the conservator after notice and hearing and order of the court for good cause. The conservator shall incur the same liability of the ward's estate for the bre…

Tort liability of conservator. The fact that a person is a conservator or a guardian shall not in itself make him personally liable for damages for the acts of his ward.

Claims against the ward. Claims against the ward accruing before or after the appointment of the conservator, and whether arising in contract or tort after being allowed or established as provided in W.S. 3-3-701 through 3-3-711, shall be paid by the conservator from the assets o…

Filing of claim; exceptions. (a) All claims against the ward shall be filed in duplicate with the clerk of the court in which the conservatorship was created. If only one (1) copy of a claim is filed, the clerk shall make a duplicate and shall charge the claimant a reasonable fee…

Affidavit and supporting documentation. (a) When a claim is filed with the clerk it shall be supported by satisfactory vouchers or other evidence supporting the claim, and by the affidavit of the claimant or someone in his behalf that the account is justly due, or if it is not du…

Claims of conservators. (a) If the conservator is a creditor of the ward, he shall file his claim as other creditors and the court shall appoint a competent person as temporary conservator to represent the ward in the matter allowing or disallowing the claim. The same procedure s…

Claims; statutes of limitations. (a) The filing of a claim in the conservatorship tolls the statute of limitations applicable to the claim until the claim is rejected by the conservator. (b) It is within the discretion of the conservator to determine whether or not the applicable…

Allowance and rejection of claims. (a) Within sixty (60) days after the filing of a claim, the conservator shall either allow the claim in a writing filed with the clerk, or reject the claim in whole or in part in a writing filed with the clerk. (b) When a claim has been filed wi…

Action precluded until claim rejected; exception. No holder of a claim against a ward shall maintain any action thereon unless the claim is first rejected in whole or in part by the conservator and the rejection filed with the clerk.