Trustee Notice to Beneficiaries Requirements in Wyoming

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Wyoming uses two 60-day clocks

W.S. § 4-10-813(b)(ii) starts the acceptance clock when the trustee accepts the trusteeship. The notice states the acceptance and gives the trustee's name, address, and telephone number.

Paragraph (b)(iii) starts the other clock when the trustee acquires knowledge that an irrevocable trust was created or that a formerly revocable trust became irrevocable, whether by settlor death or otherwise. That notice identifies the trust and settlor and states the rights to request the instrument and a trustee's report.

Qualified beneficiary is a fallback hierarchy

Section 4-10-103(a)(xv) begins with beneficiaries entitled to mandatory distributions or holding nondivestable vested residuary remainders. Only if that class is empty does the definition move to vested residuary interests divestible solely by death.

Only if both earlier classes are empty does it reach current discretionary beneficiaries who have received a lifetime distribution. If that class is also empty, it reaches other current discretionary beneficiaries. The Department of Health is an additional qualified beneficiary for the specified Medicaid-trust remainders.

Written requesters can gain notice rights

Under § 4-10-110(a), before the settlor's death a trustee may notify another beneficiary who has requested notice in writing if the settlor gives written consent. After the settlor's death, subsection (b) says the trustee shall notify a beneficiary who made a written request unless the trust terms specify otherwise.

The same section gives qualified-beneficiary rights to specified charitable and purpose-trust parties. The Attorney General may exercise those rights for a qualifying Wyoming-administered charitable trust after giving written notice to the trustee; the Attorney General is not an automatic recipient for every private trust.

Delivery requires receipt

Under § 4-10-109(a), the method must be reasonably suitable under the circumstances and result in receipt. Examples include first-class mail, personal delivery, last-known residence or business delivery, and a properly directed electronic message.

The trustee need not notify a person whose identity or location is unknown and not reasonably ascertainable. The statute gives no newspaper-publication substitute.

The trust instrument controls the default duty

Section 4-10-813(b) expressly makes its request and notice provisions subject to a trust instrument that specifically directs, limits, or waives the requirement. Section 4-10-105 independently makes trust terms prevail and does not preserve § 4-10-813 in its mandatory list.

A person's waiver of notice under § 4-10-109(c) must be written. Section 4-10-813(d) separately permits a beneficiary to waive reports or other information and withdraw that waiver for future information.

What trips people up

• The current definition is paragraph (xv), not paragraph (xiii). Paragraph (xiii) defines a power of withdrawal.
• The definition is not the ordinary UTC three-horizon test. Each later Wyoming class applies only if the earlier class or classes are empty.
• Compensation notice is not another surveyed initial trigger. Section 4-10-813(b)(iv) separately requires advance notice of a compensation-method or rate change.
• The legacy provision is an election, not an automatic exclusion. A trustee of an irrevocable trust created or made irrevocable before July 1, 2003 may elect not to comply with subsections (b) and (c).

Common questions

Must the trust instrument accompany the initial notice?

No. The irrevocability notice states the right to request a copy. Section 4-10-813(b)(i) then requires a prompt copy when a qualified beneficiary requests it, unless the trust instrument directs, limits, or waives that requirement.

Must the trustee use certified mail?

No particular method is mandated. The chosen route must actually result in receipt, and § 4-10-109(a) lists first-class mail, personal and last-known-address delivery, and a properly directed electronic message.

Who receives duties while the trust is revocable?

Under § 4-10-603(a), the trustee owes duties exclusively to the settlor while the trust is revocable and the settlor has capacity to revoke. With multiple settlors, the duties run to all settlors who have that capacity.

Can representation replace direct delivery?

Yes. Under § 4-10-301(a), notice to a person authorized to represent and bind another person the same effect as direct notice to the represented person.

Statutes and sources

• W.S. § 4-10-813(a)-(e) — two notices, contents, trust-instrument control, reports, waiver, and pre-July 2003 election. Wyoming Legislature (accessed 2026-07-31).
• W.S. § 4-10-103(a)(xv) — four-step qualified-beneficiary hierarchy and Department of Health rule. Wyoming Legislature (accessed 2026-07-31).
• W.S. §§ 4-10-105(a)-(b), -109(a)-(e), and -110(a)-(d) — default-rule status, actual-receipt delivery, unknown recipients, written waiver, and additional notice-rights routes. Wyoming Legislature (accessed 2026-07-31).
• W.S. §§ 4-10-301(a)-(d) and -603(a)-(c) — representation and capable-settlor control while revocable. Wyoming Legislature (accessed 2026-07-31).