Back to Wyoming
Lincoln County, WY Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | The District Court in Lincoln County, sitting in the Third Judicial District. Wyoming has no separate probate court; 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 Lincoln 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 | 925 Sage Avenue, Suite 202, Kemmerer, WY 83101. Probate is filed only in Kemmerer; the Afton courthouse is the county circuit court and does not handle probate |
| Mailing address | Clerk of the District Court, P.O. Box 510, Kemmerer, WY 83101; mail filings and correspondence to the P.O. box |
| Phone | (307) 877-9056, the Lincoln County Clerk of the District Court office in Kemmerer. This is the county's own line, not a statewide call center |
| Fax | (307) 877-6263. A fax filing is accepted only with the clerk's prior permission, is limited to 10 pages, and the original must be mailed the same day (county page, verified July 2026) |
| Office hours | Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., closed weekends and holidays (verified July 2026). Call (307) 877-9056 to confirm any filing cutoff before making a trip to Kemmerer |
| 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 for 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 Lincoln 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 (effective October 1, 2024). Self-represented filers cannot e-file in district court and file on paper with the Clerk of the District Court, in person or by mail. A short filing of up to 10 pages may be faxed only with the clerk's prior permission, with the original mailed the same day |
| Case search | There is no free remote public docket search for Wyoming district-court probate cases. To check a case, contact the Clerk of the District Court, or view records at the courthouse in Kemmerer or at the Wyoming State Law Library. A record search by the office costs $10 per name and requires a written request with payment (county page, verified July 2026) |
| Remote appearance | 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://www.lincolncountywy.gov/government/clerk_of_district_court/index.php |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
The first Lincoln County question is which route fits the estate, and then what you must bring to the Clerk of the District Court in Kemmerer. 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 in the district court, a summary distribution of a small estate (W.S. 2-1-205), and a simple affidavit for personal property filed with the county clerk (W.S. 2-1-201) 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.
Before you file, identify every bank and credit-union account, retirement plan, brokerage holding, life-insurance policy, vehicle, and parcel of real property, along with every debt, and identify each heir and devisee by name. In a county with ranch land, coal and trona operations, and mineral interests, how each asset is titled decides which route you need: 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. 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 Kemmerer is the single probate filing office for all of Lincoln County. It serves the entire county, which is one of Wyoming's larger counties by area and splits geographically into two regions: the south, around Kemmerer (the county seat), Diamondville, Opal, Cokeville, and La Barge; and the north, the Star Valley communities of Afton, Thayne, Alpine, Grover, Bedford, and Star Valley Ranch. Estates from every one of these communities are filed with the District Court in Lincoln County at 925 Sage Avenue in Kemmerer, or by mail to P.O. Box 510. Star Valley is a long drive from Kemmerer, and the Afton courthouse is a circuit court that does not handle probate, so a Star Valley family files its probate in Kemmerer; because papers can be mailed, most filing can be done without repeated trips across the county, 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 anywhere in Lincoln County, from Kemmerer to Alpine, file with the District Court in Lincoln County in Kemmerer. If the decedent was not a Wyoming resident but left property in the county, venue can also lie here under the same statute. The Third Judicial District is an administrative grouping of judges covering Lincoln, Sweetwater, and Uinta 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
- Confirm venue. Lincoln County is the right county when the decedent resided here at death, regardless of where the death occurred; for a nonresident, file where the Wyoming property is (W.S. 2-2-102). Every Lincoln County estate, whether the decedent lived in Kemmerer, Cokeville, or Star Valley, is filed with the Clerk of the District Court in Kemmerer; the Afton circuit court does not handle probate.
- 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 route. Full formal administration runs through the district court, which admits the will (if any) and issues letters testamentary or letters of administration (Wyo. Stat. Title 2; W.S. 2-4 for intestate administration). A will may instead be admitted without administration where appropriate (W.S. 2-6-122). 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 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, 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 Lincoln 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. A Wyoming-licensed attorney files electronically through the File and Serve system, mandatory since October 1, 2024. A self-represented filer files on paper with the Clerk of the District Court at 925 Sage Avenue, Suite 202, in Kemmerer, or by mail to P.O. Box 510, Kemmerer, WY 83101. A short filing of up to 10 pages may be faxed to (307) 877-6263 only if you call (307) 877-9056 for permission first and mail the original the same day.
- Pay the filing fee. The fee to open a probate is $160, made up of the $110 filing fee, the $40 court automation fee, and the $10 indigent civil legal services fee, and it is uniform in every Wyoming county (W.S. 5-3-206). When 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. 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 Lincoln County newspaper of general circulation. 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 Lincoln 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 in Kemmerer; 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 instead establishes title directly; a certified copy is recorded with the county clerk of each county where the real property or mineral interests are located.
- Administer and close. Inventory the assets, pay valid claims in the order set by law, account as the estate's path requires, distribute what remains, and close the estate. 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 Lincoln County
Wyoming does not publish a full do-it-yourself probate packet, and there is no separate Lincoln County form set. The statewide self-help forms on the Wyoming Judicial Branch self-help forms page (wyocourts.gov/self-help-forms) cover small estates: the affidavit for collection of personal property (W.S. 2-1-201) and the summary-distribution application and decree (W.S. 2-1-205). Confirm the current form by function on that page before you file, because a form's name can change.
There is no statewide do-it-yourself packet for a full formal administration, which is drafted to the district court's requirements, and that is one reason many families in a full administration work with counsel. In Lincoln County a Wyoming-licensed attorney files these documents electronically through the File and Serve system, and a self-represented filer files on paper with the Clerk of the District Court at 925 Sage Avenue, Suite 202, in Kemmerer, or by mail to P.O. Box 510, Kemmerer, WY 83101. A short filing may also be faxed with the clerk's prior permission. 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; the office can be reached at (307) 877-9056.
Local nuance
Lincoln County-specific considerations
A split county with one probate office, in Kemmerer. Lincoln County covers a long stretch of western Wyoming, from Kemmerer in the south to the Star Valley towns of Afton, Thayne, and Alpine in the north. Probate is handled only by the District Court in Lincoln County, whose Clerk of the District Court is at the courthouse at 925 Sage Avenue, Suite 202, in Kemmerer. The Afton courthouse is the county circuit court, a limited-jurisdiction court that does not handle probate, so a Star Valley family still files its estate in Kemmerer. Because papers can be mailed to P.O. Box 510, a filer in the north of the county can open and run an uncontested estate without repeated drives to Kemmerer.
A short filing may be faxed, with permission. The Clerk of the District Court will accept a filing by fax at (307) 877-6263, but only with prior permission by phone, only up to 10 pages, and the original must be mailed the same day the fax is received (county page, verified July 2026). Call (307) 877-9056 before sending anything by fax. For a full filing, an attorney e-files through File and Serve and a self-represented filer files on paper in person or by mail.
No remote docket search; records are requested locally. Wyoming does not offer remote public access to district-court filings, so there is no free online probate docket search for Lincoln County. To check on a case or obtain copies, contact the Clerk of the District Court, view records at the courthouse in Kemmerer, or use the Wyoming State Law Library. A record search by the office costs $10 per name and requires a written request with payment (county page, verified July 2026). District judges are appointed through Wyoming's merit-selection system and stand for retention, so this page refers to the district judge and the Clerk of the District Court by title rather than by name.
Recent updates
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Lincoln County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | If the home in Kemmerer or Star Valley was owned in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, it passes to the surviving spouse outside probate once the death is recorded with the Lincoln County Clerk, 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 Lincoln 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. | Asset discovery to confirm how the home and accounts are titled and what must go through the court. Packet generation for the filing with the Clerk of the District Court. A vetted attorney referral if a dispute arises. |
| 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). Papers can be mailed to the Clerk of the District Court in Kemmerer, so a child living out of state can proceed without traveling to Lincoln 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. |
| 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 Lincoln County, is appointed administrator, and receives letters of administration; with a will, the parent probates it and receives letters testamentary. With that authority the parent can sell the Lincoln County home and distribute the proceeds. Any hearing is held at the courthouse in Kemmerer. | Asset discovery for the child's accounts and property. Packet generation for the administration or probate filing and the inventory. Attorney referral if the sale or a dispute among heirs turns contested. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Lincoln County Clerk of the District Court, (307) 877-9056 (lincolncountywy.gov) | The filing office for probate; the courthouse address in Kemmerer, the P.O. Box 510 mailing address, hours, the fax-filing rule, and record-search requests |
| Wyoming Judicial Branch self-help forms (wyocourts.gov/self-help-forms) | The statewide small-estate probate forms, including the affidavit for collection of personal property and the summary-distribution forms |
| Wyoming Judicial Branch legal help (wyocourts.gov/legal-help) | Statewide self-help information and help finding a lawyer for probate and estate matters, plus the File and Serve e-filing information |
| Equal Justice Wyoming (equaljustice.wy.gov), (307) 777-8383 | Self-help information and forms for wills and estates, and information on free and low-cost legal help; 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 Program (wyomingbar.org) | Referrals to Wyoming probate attorneys, with reduced rates for moderate-income clients through the Modest Means Program; 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 Lincoln 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 and which a Wyoming-licensed attorney files through File and Serve; 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 Lincoln County and the Third 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, Lincoln County real estate and mineral interests, and unclaimed property, so you know the estate's value and which Wyoming estate settlement route fits before you file.
Generate the probate packet. Sunset assembles the paperwork for your route, 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln County?
With the Clerk of the District Court in Lincoln County, at the courthouse at 925 Sage Avenue, Suite 202, in Kemmerer, or by mail to P.O. Box 510, Kemmerer, WY 83101. Wyoming has no separate probate court; the district court, the state's general trial court, handles probate, and the Clerk of the District Court is the filing office. Note this is a different office from the county clerk, where a small-estate affidavit is filed.
Can I file probate at the Afton courthouse in Star Valley?
No. The Afton courthouse is the Lincoln County circuit court, a limited-jurisdiction court that does not handle probate. Probate for the whole county, including the Star Valley communities of Afton, Thayne, and Alpine, is filed with the Clerk of the District Court in Kemmerer. Because papers can be mailed to P.O. Box 510, a Star Valley family can usually proceed without repeated trips to Kemmerer.
Do I have to e-file probate in Lincoln 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. A short filing of up to 10 pages may be faxed to (307) 877-6263 only with the clerk's prior permission, with the original mailed the same day; call (307) 877-9056 first.
How much does it cost to file probate in Lincoln 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). 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. There is no county add-on.
Can I look up a Lincoln County probate case online?
Not through a free public docket search. Wyoming does not offer remote public access to district-court probate filings. To check a case, contact the Clerk of the District Court at (307) 877-9056, or view records at the courthouse in Kemmerer or at the Wyoming State Law Library. A record search by the office costs $10 per name and requires a written request with payment.
What forms do I need for probate in Lincoln County?
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 Lincoln 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.
Does a small estate in Lincoln 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.
What authority document does the court issue in a Lincoln County estate?
In a full administration the District Court in Lincoln County 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, transfer agents, and title companies rely on, so request enough certified copies for the institutions the estate deals with.
Does Wyoming have an estate tax or inheritance tax on a Lincoln 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.