Wyoming: Revocable Trust Amendment Requirements

Requirements one by one

Revocability and the included amendment power

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 4-10-602(a) generally permits the settlor to amend a trust
unless its terms expressly provide that it is irrevocable. Subsection (f) adds
that, unless the trust provides otherwise, a power to revoke includes the power
to amend.

The trust can therefore change both the revocability result and whether a
revocation power carries amendment authority. Wyoming states no separate
procedure for a complete restatement; replacing all operative terms is a
comprehensive amendment under the same rules.

Trust method and the statutory alternatives

Under § 4-10-602(c)(i), the settlor may amend by substantial compliance with a
method provided in the trust. If the trust provides no method or its method is
not made exclusive, paragraph (ii) supplies two alternatives.

The first is a statement expressly amending the trust in a writing signed by
the settlor or in the settlor's will. The second is any other method manifesting
clear and convincing evidence of the settlor's intent. The statute does not
state a codicil route separately, and it does not make a signed writing the only
alternative.

Signature, witnesses, notary, and delivery

The signed-writing branch requires the settlor's signature. A statement in the
settlor's will uses the separate law governing that instrument. The any-method
branch does not itself impose a writing requirement.

Section 4-10-602(c) states no universal witness, acknowledgment, notarization,
or trustee-delivery requirement for every amendment. Subsection (d), which
orders delivery of trust property after revocation, is not an
amendment-document delivery rule.

Capacity is will-level capacity

Section 4-10-601 makes amendment capacity the same as capacity to make a will.
Under § 2-6-101, a person must be of legal age and sound mind to make a will.
The amendment standard is not merely whatever capacity was required to create
the trust.

Every settlor must join a multi-settlor amendment

Under § 4-10-602(b)(i), both spouses must act jointly to amend community
property. Either spouse may revoke that property acting alone, but that
separate revocation rule does not reduce the joint-amendment requirement.

Wyoming departs from the ordinary contribution-based amendment rule for other
property. Each settlor may revoke the portion attributable to that settlor's
contribution, but subsection (b)(ii) requires joint action of all settlors to
amend the trust. Section 4-10-602 states no separate other-settlor notice duty.

Agent, conservator, and guardian

Under § 4-10-602(e), an agent may exercise the settlor's amendment power only to
the extent expressly authorized by the trust terms or the power of attorney.
The statute does not require both documents to contain an express grant.

Under subsection (g), a conservator needs approval from the court supervising
the conservatorship. If no conservator has been appointed, a guardian needs
approval from the court supervising the guardianship. In either case, the court
must also find that the exercise meets the settlor's purpose or intent in
establishing the trust.

Effective time and trustee protection

For direct settlor action under subsection (c), the statute states no universal
rule making the amendment operative only on trustee receipt, acceptance, or a
fixed execution date. The trust method or chosen alternative determines when
its required acts are complete.

Section 4-10-602 states no general beneficiary or co-settlor notice duty. Under
subsection (h), a trustee who does not know or have actual knowledge of the
amendment is protected from liability to the settlor or successors for
distributions and other actions taken on the assumption that the trust remained
unamended.

What trips people up

• Using contribution shares for amendment. Wyoming uses contributions for
  noncommunity revocation but requires all settlors to join an amendment.
• Omitting the will branch. A statement expressly amending the trust may
  appear in the settlor's will through the statutory gateway.
• Treating signed writing as the only fallback. Wyoming also preserves any
  other method supported by clear and convincing evidence of intent.
• Demanding express agent authority in both documents. The trust or power
  of attorney may supply it.
• Stopping at court approval. The supervising court must also make the
  purpose-or-intent finding for a conservator or guardian.

Common questions

May a will amend a Wyoming revocable trust?

Yes, through the no-method or nonexclusive-method gateway, if the settlor's will
contains a statement expressly amending the trust.

Must the amendment be witnessed, notarized, and delivered?

Section 4-10-602 states no universal package of those formalities. The signed-
writing branch requires the settlor's signature; the trust method, will route,
or any-method alternative must be evaluated under its own requirements.

Can one settlor amend only that settlor's contributed share?

No general contribution-share amendment power is supplied. For noncommunity
property, each settlor may revoke the contributed portion, but all settlors must
act jointly to amend the trust.

Can a conservator or guardian amend the trust?

Only with supervising-court approval and a finding that the exercise meets the
settlor's purpose or intent in establishing the trust. A guardian is the
fallback only if no conservator has been appointed.

Statutes and sources

• Wyo. Stat. Ann. §§ 4-10-601 and 2-6-101 — will-level amendment capacity
  and the legal-age-and-sound-mind standard. Official Title 4
  PDF and official Title 2
  PDF (accessed 2026-08-11).
• Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 4-10-602 — revocability, methods and exclusivity,
  signed-writing, will, and intent alternatives, all-settlor amendment, agent
  authority, court-supervised fiduciaries, and trustee protection. Official
  Title 4 PDF (accessed
  2026-08-11).