Title 3, Guardian And Ward

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.

Compelling payment of claims. (a) No claimant may compel payment of his claim until it has been duly filed and allowed by the conservator or reduced to judgment and a certified copy of the judgment filed with the clerk. (b) Any judgment rendered upon any claim for money only esta…

Judgments; execution and levy. (a) When a judgment has been entered against the ward prior to the appointment of a conservator, no execution shall issue thereon after the conservator is appointed unless the judgment is for the recovery of real or personal property or the enforcem…

Pending actions against the ward. Any action, including any counterclaim in any pending action, pending against the ward at the time the conservator is appointed, shall be considered a claim filed in accordance with the provisions of W.S. 3-3-702 and 3-3-703, if notice of substit…

Payment of claims in insolvent conservatorship. When it appears the assets of the ward are insufficient to pay in full all claims against the ward, the conservator shall report the relevant facts to the court. The court shall, upon hearing, with notice to all persons who have fil…

Conservator may make gifts. For good cause shown and under order of court, a conservator may make gifts on behalf of the ward out of the assets of the ward to persons or religious, educational, scientific, charitable or other nonprofit organizations to whom or to which gifts were…

Conservator shall report and account. (a) A conservator shall present to the court and file in the conservatorship proceedings a written verified report and accounting of his administration: (i) Annually, within sixty (60) days following the anniversary date of his appointment, u…

Requirement of report and accounting. (a) The report and accounting required by W.S. 3-3-901 shall account for all of the assets, property and income of the ward during the period since the close of the last previous accounting, and shall include the following information so far …

Payment of court costs. No order shall be entered approving an annual report of a guardian or conservator until the court costs which have been incurred in the guardianship or conservatorship have been paid or provided for.

Court costs of guardianship. The ward or his estate shall be charged with the court costs of a guardianship of a ward, including the reasonable fees of the guardian and the attorney for the guardian.

Court costs of conservatorship. The ward or his estate shall be charged with the court costs of a conservatorship for a ward, including the reasonable fees of the conservator and the attorney for the conservator.

Settlement of accounts. The court shall settle each account filed by a conservator by allowing or disallowing it, either in whole or in part, or by surcharging the account against the conservator.

Cause for termination. (a) A guardianship shall cease, and a conservatorship shall terminate, upon the occurrence of any of the following circumstances: (i) If upon attaining the age of majority when the ward is a minor who has not been adjudged an incompetent person or a mentall…

Assets exhausted. (a) When the assets of the estate of the ward do not exceed the amount of charges and claims against them, the court may direct the conservator to proceed to terminate the conservatorship. (b) When the assets of a minor ward are exhausted or consist of only pers…

Accounting to ward; notice of hearing. Upon termination of a conservatorship, the conservator shall pay the costs of administration and render a full and complete accounting to the ward or his personal representative and to the court. Notice of hearing on the final report of a co…

Delivery of assets. Upon termination of a conservatorship, all assets of the ward shall be delivered, under direction of the court, to the person or persons entitled thereto.

Petition to terminate. (a) At any time, not less than six (6) months after the appointment of a guardian or conservator, the ward may petition the court alleging that he is no longer a proper subject of the guardianship or conservatorship and asking that the guardianship or conse…