Wyoming Transfer-on-Death Deed

Wyoming's statutory tool here is the transfer-on-death deed, and it's structured quite differently from a Lady Bird-style deed used in some other states. Under the Wyoming Probate Code, an owner can convey an interest in real property to a named 'grantee beneficiary' through a deed that explicitly states it takes effect only at the owner's death. Title doesn't actually pass to that beneficiary until the owner dies, and the deed has to follow the statutory form and comply with other applicable law to be valid.

During the owner's lifetime, the beneficiary's signature, consent, agreement, or even notice isn't required — the deed can be revoked at any time, and if more than one qualifying deed ends up recorded for the same property, the one recorded last before the owner's death is the one that controls. Joint-tenancy ownership adds another layer: if a deed naming a beneficiary was signed by fewer than all the joint owners, a surviving joint tenant's rights still take priority over the named beneficiary. The detail families most often miss, though, is that recording this deed sets off a notice process — the county clerk furnishes deed information to the Department of Health, and the statute expressly preserves the Department's ability to assert a lien for amounts recoverable from the owner's estate. This isn't a quiet, no-questions-asked way to move a home outside of Medicaid's reach.