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Carbon County, WY Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | The District Court in Carbon County, sitting in the Second Judicial District. There is no separate probate court in Wyoming; the district court is the general trial court and handles probate (W.S. 2-2-101). The judge is a district judge |
| Filing office | The Clerk of the District Court in Carbon County, the elected county officer whose office takes petitions and keeps the county's estate records. This is a different office from the county clerk, where a small-estate affidavit is filed |
| Courthouse | 415 West Pine Street, Suite 310, Rawlins, WY 82301 |
| Mailing address | P.O. Box 67, Rawlins, WY 82301; mail filings and correspondence to the P.O. box |
| Phone | (307) 328-2628, the Carbon County Clerk of the District Court office. This is the county's own line, not a statewide call center |
| Fax | (307) 328-2629 |
| Hours | Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; closed weekends and holidays. Call the Clerk of the District Court to confirm any filing cutoff before making a trip to Rawlins |
| Filing fee | $160 to open probate: a $110 filing fee, a $40 court automation fee, and a $10 indigent civil legal services fee. This is set by statute and uniform in every Wyoming county (W.S. 5-3-206, uniform statewide, verified July 2026), plus a graduated inventory fee when an inventory or appraisement is filed showing an estate of $5,000 or more (W.S. 2-2-401) |
| Local forms | None. Wyoming's statewide self-help forms cover small estates, not full formal administration; there is no Carbon County local probate form set. Full probate filings are drafted to the district court's requirements, and self-represented filers usually work with the small-estate forms or with counsel |
| E-filing | Mandatory for Wyoming-licensed attorneys through the File and Serve system (File & ServeXpress), effective October 1, 2024. The district-court e-filing system is not available to self-represented (pro se) filers, who file on paper with the Clerk of the District Court, in person or by mail |
| Case search | Wyoming does not offer remote public access to district-court filings, so there is no free online probate docket search for Carbon County. To check a case, contact the Clerk of the District Court, or view records at the courthouse in Rawlins or at the Wyoming State Law Library |
| Remote appearance | Hearing formats are set by the assigned district judge; the court does not publish a standing remote-appearance policy, so ask the Clerk of the District Court whether a given hearing can be handled by phone or video. Many uncontested estates are resolved on the papers without an in-person appearance |
| Website | https://carboncountywy.gov/952/Clerk-of-District-Court |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Before you file anything in Carbon County, know exactly what is in the estate. Which Wyoming path fits depends on whether there is a will, on who inherits, and on the value and type of the assets, because a full administration, a summary distribution of a small estate, and a simple affidavit for personal property are different routes with different filings. Those paths and their thresholds are statewide and are explained on the Wyoming state page; identify the estate first so you, and if needed your attorney, file the right papers once.
Identify every bank and credit-union account, retirement plan, brokerage holding, life-insurance policy, vehicle, and parcel of real property, along with every debt, before you file. In a ranching and energy county like Carbon this matters in particular for land and mineral interests, because the route that can pass real property, including mineral interests, is the summary-distribution decree in the district court (W.S. 2-1-205), while the affidavit route filed with the county clerk (W.S. 2-1-201) reaches only personal property. How each asset is titled decides which route you need. Sunset's asset-discovery work, searching more than 2,300 financial institutions, exists for this step.
Which court handles jurisdiction
The Clerk of the District Court in Rawlins is the single probate filing office for all of Carbon County. It serves the entire county, including Rawlins (the county seat), Sinclair, Saratoga, Encampment, Riverside, Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow, Baggs, and Dixon, along with the surrounding ranch and energy country. Estates from every one of these communities are filed with the Clerk of the District Court at 415 West Pine Street in Rawlins, or by mail to P.O. Box 67. Carbon is one of Wyoming's largest counties by area and thinly populated, so a filer at the edge of the county may be a long drive from Rawlins; because papers can be mailed, most filing can be done without repeated trips to the courthouse, and the distance matters mainly for any in-person hearing.
Venue for a decedent's estate is the county where the decedent resided at the time of death (W.S. 2-2-102). If the decedent lived in Carbon County, file with the District Court in Carbon County. If the decedent was not a Wyoming resident but left property in the county, venue can also lie here under the same statute. The Second Judicial District is an administrative grouping of judges covering Carbon and Albany counties; probate is still filed in the decedent's county, in that county's district court, not in the district at large. The judge is a district judge, and the Clerk of the District Court maintains the county's estate records.
The jurisdiction process
- Gather the documents. Collect the original signed will (if there is one), a certified copy of the death certificate, the proposed personal representative's contact information and identification, the names and addresses of the heirs and devisees, and a list of the assets and debts with values. A person named in a will to settle the estate is an executor; a person appointed where there is no will is an administrator. Wyoming's umbrella term for either is personal representative.
- Choose the path. Full formal administration runs through the district court, which admits the will (if any) and issues letters testamentary or letters of administration. For a smaller estate there are two lighter routes: a summary distribution decree in the district court (W.S. 2-1-205), which can reach real property and mineral interests, and an affidavit for collection of personal property filed with the county clerk (W.S. 2-1-201), which reaches only personal property and opens no court case. Both small-estate routes apply when the estate does not exceed $400,000 (effective July 1, 2025) and at least 30 days have passed since death. These statewide paths and their details are on the Wyoming state page; identify the right one before you file.
- Prepare the forms. Wyoming's statewide self-help forms, published on the Judicial Branch self-help forms page (wyocourts.gov/self-help-forms), cover small estates, the affidavit, and summary distribution; there is no statewide do-it-yourself packet for a full formal administration, and there is no separate Carbon County form set. Confirm the current form by function on the self-help forms page before you file, and expect a full administration to require documents drafted to the district court's requirements.
- File with the Clerk of the District Court at 415 West Pine Street, Suite 310, in Rawlins, or by mail to P.O. Box 67, Rawlins, WY 82301. A Wyoming-licensed attorney files electronically through the File and Serve system, mandatory since October 1, 2024; a self-represented filer files on paper in person or by mail. Pay the $160 fee to open probate ($110 filing fee, $40 court automation fee, and $10 indigent civil legal services fee), which is set by statute and the same in every county (W.S. 5-3-206, uniform statewide, verified July 2026). The affidavit route opens no court case, so there is no court filing fee; for a summary-distribution application, confirm the current fee with the Clerk of the District Court.
- Give notice to creditors. In a full administration, once letters issue the personal representative publishes a notice to creditors once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. Creditors must file claims with the clerk within three months of the first publication, or be forever barred (W.S. 2-7-201). The affidavit and summary-distribution routes do not use this creditor-claim process.
- Attend a hearing only if one is scheduled. Many uncontested Carbon County estates are resolved by the district court on the papers, without an in-person hearing. Where a matter is contested or a hearing is otherwise required, the Clerk of the District Court sets it; ask the office whether it can be handled by phone or video.
- Receive the letters. On appointment the court issues letters testamentary (where there is a will) or letters of administration (where there is not). A certified copy of the letters is what banks and transfer agents rely on, so request enough certified copies for the institutions involved. A summary-distribution decree (W.S. 2-1-205) instead establishes title directly.
- Administer and close. Inventory the assets (a graduated inventory fee applies at $5,000 or more of value under W.S. 2-2-401), pay valid claims in the order set by law, account as the estate's path requires, distribute what remains, and close the estate. If the estate is settled by summary distribution and includes Carbon County land or mineral interests, a certified copy of the decree is recorded with the county clerk to establish title. Wyoming imposes no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax, so no Wyoming death-tax return is required.
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Carbon County
There is no Carbon County probate form set. Wyoming's statewide self-help forms are published on the Wyoming Judicial Branch self-help page at wyocourts.gov/self-help-forms, and they cover small estates, not full probate. The set includes the small-estate forms used for the affidavit for collection of personal property (W.S. 2-1-201) and the application for a decree of summary distribution (W.S. 2-1-205). Confirm a form's current name on that page before relying on it, because a form's name can change.
There is no statewide do-it-yourself packet for a full formal administration. A formal probate is drafted to the district court's requirements, which is why most families in a full administration work with counsel. In Carbon County the completed documents are filed with the Clerk of the District Court in Rawlins: a Wyoming-licensed attorney e-files through File and Serve, and a self-represented filer files on paper in person or by mail. The Clerk's staff can tell you how the office wants filings made, but they cannot give legal advice or tell you which route to choose.
Recent updates
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Carbon County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | If the Rawlins-area home was owned in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, it passes to the surviving spouse outside probate once the death is recorded, so no district-court case is needed for the house itself. If other assets stood in the decedent's sole name and there is a will, the spouse files in the District Court in Carbon County and, once the will is admitted, receives letters testamentary as executor; with no will, the spouse is appointed administrator and receives letters of administration. If the sole-name estate qualifies as a small estate and holds no real property, the personal-property affidavit filed with the county clerk (W.S. 2-1-201) may be enough. | Asset discovery to confirm how the home and accounts are titled and what must go through the court. Packet generation for the small-estate affidavit or the district-court filing. Guidance on clearing title with the Carbon County Clerk. |
| Out-of-state adult child, small estate | Where the estate does not exceed $400,000 (effective July 1, 2025) and at least 30 days have passed since death, a distributee can often avoid a full administration: personal property alone can be collected by affidavit filed with the county clerk (W.S. 2-1-201), while land or mineral interests are passed by a summary-distribution decree in the district court (W.S. 2-1-205). Because self-represented filers cannot e-file in district court, a full administration is filed on paper by mail to the Clerk of the District Court in Rawlins, so a child living out of state can often proceed without repeated trips to Carbon County. | Asset discovery to confirm the estate qualifies and to locate accounts and mineral interests from out of state. Packet generation for the affidavit or the summary-distribution application, prepared so an out-of-state filer can proceed by mail. Attorney referral if the estate turns out to be larger or contested. |
| Parent settling a predeceased child's estate, home must be sold | Because the estate holds real property that must be sold, it generally proceeds through a full administration rather than a small-estate route: with no will, the parent files in the District Court in Carbon County, is appointed administrator, and receives letters of administration; with a will, the parent probates it and receives letters testamentary. The parent then publishes the notice to creditors (W.S. 2-7-201), collects assets, and sells the Carbon County home under the personal representative's authority before distributing the proceeds. Any hearing is held at the courthouse in Rawlins. | Asset discovery for the child's accounts, property, and any mineral interests. Packet generation for the administration or probate filing and the inventory. Attorney referral to run the full administration and any contested step, since Wyoming has no do-it-yourself packet for formal probate. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Carbon County Clerk of the District Court, (307) 328-2628 (carboncountywy.gov) | The county's own page for the filing office: the courthouse address in Rawlins, the P.O. Box 67 mailing address, phone, fax, and hours for Carbon County estates |
| Wyoming Judicial Branch self-help forms (wyocourts.gov/self-help-forms) | The statewide small-estate probate forms, including the personal-property affidavit and the summary-distribution application; there is no statewide packet for a full formal administration |
| Wyoming Judicial Branch legal-help hub (wyocourts.gov/legal-help) | Statewide self-help information and help finding a lawyer, plus the district-court e-filing information for File and Serve |
| Equal Justice Wyoming (equaljustice.wy.gov), (307) 777-8383 | The state civil legal-services program: self-help information and forms, including wills and estates; the successor to the older probono.wy.gov self-help site |
| Legal Aid of Wyoming (lawyoming.org) | Free civil legal aid for eligible low-income Wyoming residents |
| Wyoming State Bar lawyer referral and Modest Means (wyomingbar.org/for-the-public/hire-a-lawyer) | Lawyer referral statewide, including Carbon County probate, and a Modest Means Program that caps rates for moderate-income clients; confirm the current referral phone on the site |
| Wyoming State Law Library (Cheyenne) | Public access to court records and legal materials, the practical place to view district-court probate records given there is no remote public search; confirm hours and location before visiting |
When to hire an attorney
Many Carbon County estates are uncontested, and a small estate can often be settled without an attorney through the affidavit for collection of personal property or a summary-distribution decree. Consider counsel when the estate goes through a full formal administration, which Wyoming does not provide a do-it-yourself packet for, when the estate holds ranch land or mineral interests that must be sold or divided, when a will contest or a dispute among heirs is likely, when the estate is insolvent or a creditor is pressing a claim, or when the estate includes a business interest or out-of-state property. The Clerk of the District Court can explain procedure but cannot give legal advice. Sunset can connect families to a vetted Wyoming probate attorney serving Carbon County and the Second Judicial District.
How Sunset helps
Find the accounts and assets. Sunset searches more than 2,300 financial institutions and public records to surface bank and credit-union accounts, retirement plans, brokerage holdings, life insurance, Carbon County real estate and mineral interests, and unclaimed property, so you know the estate's value and which Wyoming path fits before you file.
Generate the probate packet. Sunset assembles the paperwork for your estate settlement path, whether a full administration, a summary-distribution application, or an affidavit for personal property, ready to file with the Clerk of the District Court in Carbon County, on paper or by mail.
Find a local probate attorney. When a matter is contested or otherwise calls for counsel, Sunset connects families to a vetted Wyoming probate attorney serving Carbon County.
Sunset is free for families. Revenue comes from bank partners that pay Sunset while estate funds sit in an FDIC-insured estate account ($3M coverage).
Frequently asked questions
Where do I file for probate in Carbon County, Wyoming?
With the Clerk of the District Court in Carbon County, at the courthouse at 415 West Pine Street, Suite 310, in Rawlins, or by mail to P.O. Box 67, Rawlins, WY 82301. Wyoming has no separate probate court; the district court, the state's general trial court, handles probate (W.S. 2-2-101), and the Clerk of the District Court is the filing office. Venue is the county where the decedent resided at death (W.S. 2-2-102). Note this is a different office from the county clerk, where a small-estate affidavit is filed.
Do I have to e-file probate in Carbon County?
It depends who is filing. Wyoming-licensed attorneys must e-file through the File and Serve system (mandatory since October 1, 2024). A self-represented filer cannot e-file in district court and instead files on paper with the Clerk of the District Court, in person or by mail to P.O. Box 67, Rawlins, WY 82301.
How much does it cost to open probate in Carbon County?
The fee to open a probate is $160, made up of a $110 filing fee, a $40 court automation fee, and a $10 indigent civil legal services fee, and it is uniform in every Wyoming county (W.S. 5-3-206, verified July 2026). If an inventory or appraisement is filed for an estate of $5,000 or more, a graduated inventory fee also applies (W.S. 2-2-401); there is no inventory fee for an estate under $5,000.
Can I look up a Carbon County probate case online?
Not through a free public docket search. Wyoming does not offer remote public access to district-court probate filings, so there is no free online probate docket search for Carbon County. To check a case, contact the Clerk of the District Court at (307) 328-2628, or view records at the courthouse in Rawlins or at the Wyoming State Law Library.
Do I have to travel to Rawlins to settle an estate in Carbon County?
Usually not just to file. Papers can be mailed to the Clerk of the District Court at P.O. Box 67, Rawlins, WY 82301, and a Wyoming attorney e-files through File and Serve, so a filer at the edge of this large county or one living out of state can often open and run an uncontested estate without repeated trips. The distance matters mainly for any in-person hearing.
What forms do I use for a Carbon County estate?
For a small estate, the statewide Wyoming self-help forms cover the affidavit for collection of personal property (W.S. 2-1-201) and the summary-distribution application and decree (W.S. 2-1-205), published on the Wyoming Judicial Branch self-help forms page. There is no statewide do-it-yourself packet for a full formal administration and no separate Carbon County form set; full administration documents are drafted to the district court's requirements. Confirm the current form on the self-help forms page before you file.
What is the difference between the county clerk and the Clerk of the District Court in Carbon County?
They are two different offices. The Clerk of the District Court runs the court counter in Carbon County, taking probate petitions and issuing letters and decrees. The Carbon County Clerk is a separate office, and it is where a personal-property small-estate affidavit is filed (W.S. 2-1-201) and where a summary-distribution decree affecting real property is recorded. File probate cases with the Clerk of the District Court.
Does a small estate in Carbon County have to go through full probate?
Often no. When the estate does not exceed $400,000 (effective July 1, 2025) and at least 30 days have passed since death, personal property can be collected by an affidavit filed with the county clerk (W.S. 2-1-201) without opening a court case, and real property or mineral interests can pass by a summary-distribution decree in the district court (W.S. 2-1-205). A full formal administration is needed mainly for larger or contested estates. The statewide details are on the Wyoming state page.
Does Wyoming have an estate tax or inheritance tax on a Carbon County estate?
No. Wyoming imposes no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax, so no Wyoming death-tax return is required regardless of the size of the estate. A very large estate may still have a federal estate tax obligation; the federal estate tax exemption is $15 million per individual for deaths in 2026.
Shaped by the families we've helped
Thank you to the thousands of families who have trusted Sunset to help settle their loved ones' estates. This page is shaped by the questions they actually asked and the obstacles they actually hit — and that hard-won experience is what keeps it accurate, current, and genuinely useful to the families who come next.