Complex Will with Trust - Wyoming

LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

and

TESTAMENTARY TRUST AGREEMENT

of [TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME]

Execution Date: [MONTH] [DAY], [YEAR]
Domicile: [County], Wyoming, United States of America

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Recitals & Statement of Intent
2. Definitions
3. Revocation of Prior Instruments
4. Family Information & Disinheritance

5. Appointment of Fiduciaries
   5.1 Personal Representative
   5.2 Trustee
   5.3 Guardian of Minor Children

6. Specific Bequests & Devises

7. Residuary Estate; Creation of the [NAME OF FAMILY TRUST]

8. Trust Administration Terms
   8.1 Beneficiaries & Distributions
   8.2 Trustee Powers
   8.3 Fiduciary Standards & Limitations
   8.4 Trustee Indemnification & Liability Cap
   8.5 Termination of Trust

9. Tax Matters & Apportionment

10. Optional No-Contest Planning Instruction
11. Governing Law; Court, ADR, and Jury Issues
12. Miscellaneous Provisions
13. Attestation & Execution
14. Witness Acknowledgment
15. Self-Proving Affidavit (Wyoming)

1. RECITALS & STATEMENT OF INTENT

I, [TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME], a resident of [County], Wyoming (the “Testator”), being of legal age and sound mind and acting of my own free will, declare this instrument to be my Last Will and Testament and Testamentary Trust Agreement (this “Will”), revoking all prior wills and codicils. I request probate in the Wyoming district court having venue under Wyo. Stat. § 2-2-102.

2. DEFINITIONS

For ease of reference, the following capitalized terms have the meanings set forth below. Terms not defined here shall have their ordinary legal meanings under Wyoming law.

“Applicable Law” means the Wyoming Probate Code and the Wyoming Uniform Trust Code, as amended from time to time, and any other controlling federal or state statutes or regulations.

“Beneficiary” means any person or entity entitled to receive distributions from the Trust Estate pursuant to Article 8.

“Child” or “Children” means my lineal descendants in the first degree, whether born to me or legally adopted by me, and expressly excludes step-children unless otherwise named herein.

“Court” means the Wyoming district court sitting in probate for estate matters and the district or chancery court with jurisdiction under Wyo. Stat. § 4-10-203 for a trust proceeding, as applicable.

“Personal Representative” means the executor, executrix, or administrator of my estate appointed pursuant to Section 5.1.

“Trust” means the testamentary trust created under Article 7 of this Will and commonly referred to herein as the “[NAME OF FAMILY TRUST].”

“Trustee” means the person or entity nominated in Section 5.2 and any qualified successor or co-trustee acting pursuant to this Will and Applicable Law.

“Trust Estate” means all property, real or personal, tangible or intangible, conveyed or transferred to the Trustee under Article 7, together with all accumulations and substitutions therefor.

3. REVOCATION OF PRIOR INSTRUMENTS

I hereby revoke, annul, and render void all prior wills, codicils, and testamentary dispositions heretofore made by me.

4. FAMILY INFORMATION & DISINHERITANCE

4.1 Marital Status. I am currently [married to / single / divorced from] [SPOUSE NAME].
4.2 Children. I have the following children: [LIST NAMES & BIRTHDATES].
4.3 Intentional Omission. Except as otherwise expressly provided, I intentionally make no gift to any person not named in this Will. This clause remains subject to mandatory rights that cannot be defeated by the Will, including applicable surviving-spouse and child protections.

5. APPOINTMENT OF FIDUCIARIES

5.1 Personal Representative

a. I nominate [PRIMARY PR NAME] as Personal Representative of my estate.
b. If [PRIMARY PR NAME] is unwilling or unable to serve, I nominate [ALTERNATE PR NAME] as successor Personal Representative.
c. Bond. I direct that no bond be required of a Personal Representative. Wyo. Stat. § 2-3-111 permits letters to issue without bond when the Will so provides, but the Court may later require a bond if necessary.

5.2 Trustee

a. I nominate [PRIMARY TRUSTEE NAME] as initial Trustee of the Trust.
b. Successor Trustees shall serve in the following order: [1] [NAME], [2] [NAME].
c. Corporate Trustee Option. If no nominated individual is willing or able to serve, a regulated financial services institution qualified to conduct trust business in Wyoming may serve as Trustee.

5.3 Guardian of Minor Children

If at my death any of my children are minors, I nominate [PRIMARY GUARDIAN NAME] as guardian and [PRIMARY CONSERVATOR NAME] as conservator, subject to court appointment and the child's circumstances. [ALTERNATE NAME(S)] are nominated as successors.

6. SPECIFIC BEQUESTS & DEVISES

6.1 Personal Property. I devise and bequeath all jewelry, household furnishings, vehicles, and other tangible personal property to [NAME], if he or she survives me by thirty (30) days.
6.2 Charitable Gifts. I give [$ AMOUNT OR %] of my probate estate to [CHARITY LEGAL NAME & EIN].
6.3 Contingencies. If any specific beneficiary fails to survive me by thirty (30) days, the lapsed gift shall pass to my Residuary Estate unless otherwise provided herein.

7. RESIDUARY ESTATE; CREATION OF THE [NAME OF FAMILY TRUST]

I give, devise, and bequeath my Residuary Estate, of whatsoever nature and wheresoever situated, to the Trustee, IN TRUST, to hold, manage, and distribute the same as the Trust Estate pursuant to Article 8 of this Will. This Trust shall be known as the “[NAME OF FAMILY TRUST]” (the “Trust”), and the Trustee shall administer the Trust in accordance with the provisions herein and Applicable Law.

8. TRUST ADMINISTRATION TERMS

8.1 Beneficiaries & Distributions

a. Primary Beneficiaries. During the lifetime of my spouse [SPOUSE NAME], the Trustee may distribute such amounts of net income and principal as the Trustee, in its sole and absolute discretion, deems necessary or advisable for the health, education, maintenance, or support (“HEMS”) of my spouse.

b. Descendant Beneficiaries. After the death of my spouse, or if I leave no surviving spouse, the Trustee shall distribute or apply income and principal for the HEMS of my Children and their issue, per stirpes.

c. Mandatory Termination Distribution. Upon the youngest living Child attaining age [AGE e.g., 30] or upon earlier termination pursuant to Section 8.5, the Trust Estate shall be distributed outright, per stirpes, to my then-living descendants.

d. Special Discretionary Powers. The Trustee may, but shall not be required to, equalize distributions among beneficiaries to account for prior advancements, educational expenses, or special needs.

8.2 Trustee Powers

Subject to the terms of this Will, Wyo. Stat. §§ 4-10-815 and 4-10-816, and the fiduciary duties in Article 8 of the Wyoming Uniform Trust Code, the Trustee may exercise without prior court authorization the powers conferred by the Trust and applicable law, including powers to:

1. Investment & Reinvestment (including authority under the Wyoming Prudent Investor Rule);
2. Sale, Lease, or Encumbrance of Trust Property;
3. Distribution in Cash or in Kind and Non-Pro-Rata Allocations;
4. Retain property only after applying the governing investment, diversification, loyalty, and prudence duties;
5. Delegation of Investment Functions to qualified agents;
6. Formation of Entities or participation in business ventures;
7. Settlement of Claims for or against the Trust;
8. Borrowing and Pledging Trust Assets;
9. Execution of Documents and Voting Securities;
10. Employ and compensate qualified agents and appoint an ancillary trustee for property in another jurisdiction as permitted by law.

8.3 Fiduciary Standards & Limitations

The Trustee shall administer the Trust in good faith, in accordance with its terms and purposes, the interests of the beneficiaries as defined by the Trust, and the Wyoming Uniform Trust Code. The Trustee shall act loyally, impartially when there are multiple beneficiaries, and prudently by considering the Trust's purposes, terms, distribution requirements, and circumstances and exercising reasonable care, skill, and caution. See Wyo. Stat. §§ 4-10-801 through 4-10-804.

8.4 Trustee Indemnification & Liability Cap

a. Reimbursement. The Trustee may pay proper administration expenses from the Trust and may seek reimbursement or indemnification to the extent authorized by this Will and applicable law.

b. Exculpation Limit. No term of this Will relieves a fiduciary from liability for a breach committed in bad faith or with reckless indifference to the Trust's purposes or the beneficiaries' interests, or validates a term inserted through abuse of a fiduciary or confidential relationship. See Wyo. Stat. § 4-10-1008.

c. Personal Liability. There is no blanket liability cap equal to the Trust Estate. Contract liability depends in part on disclosure of fiduciary capacity and the contract terms; tort and property-control liability depends on personal fault. See Wyo. Stat. § 4-10-1010.

8.5 Termination of Trust

The Trust shall terminate upon the earliest to occur of:

1. Distribution pursuant to Section 8.1(c);
2. A lawful modification or termination under the Wyoming Uniform Trust Code; or
3. The latest permitted vesting or termination date applicable to the affected property under Wyo. Stat. § 34-1-139.

For an uneconomic-trust termination under Wyo. Stat. § 4-10-415, the Trustee shall use that section's then-current value threshold, distribution plan, written notice to all qualified beneficiaries, thirty-day objection period, and court-petition route if a timely objection is received. Counsel must separately classify real property under § 34-1-139(a) and other trust property under § 34-1-139(b); this Will does not impose one blanket twenty-one-year period on both.

9. TAX MATTERS & APPORTIONMENT

After tax counsel reviews the estate, beneficiary designations, marital plan, and governing federal and state law, the appropriate fiduciary shall pay and apportion death-related taxes as follows: [INSERT VERIFIED APPORTIONMENT DIRECTION]. A fiduciary may make tax elections authorized by Wyo. Stat. § 4-10-816(a)(xvi) and other applicable law, but this form does not preselect a QTIP, generation-skipping, portability, or allocation election.

10. OPTIONAL NO-CONTEST PLANNING INSTRUCTION

☐ After Wyoming counsel confirms current enforceability, public-policy limits, probable-cause treatment, protected proceedings, and the intended substitute gift, insert a tailored no-contest clause here: [________________________________].

No forfeiture applies merely because this checkbox is present or because a beneficiary seeks instructions, an accounting, fiduciary removal, or other relief. Counsel must draft the operative trigger and disposition.

11. GOVERNING LAW; COURT, ADR, AND JURY ISSUES

11.1 Governing Law. This Will and the Trust shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of Wyoming, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles.
11.2 Court and Venue. Estate proceedings shall follow Wyo. Stat. §§ 2-2-101 and 2-2-102. Trust proceedings shall follow §§ 4-10-203 and 4-10-204, including any jurisdiction of the Wyoming chancery court.
11.3 Equitable Relief. A party may request temporary or permanent equitable relief when authorized by the governing procedure and supported by the facts; relief is not automatic under this Will.
11.4 Alternative Dispute Resolution. Wyo. Stat. § 4-10-816(a)(xxiii) permits a trustee to resolve trust-administration disputes by mediation, arbitration, or another ADR procedure. Counsel must determine whether a particular controversy—including a will contest—may lawfully be submitted to ADR.
11.5 Jury. This Will creates no blanket jury waiver. Wyo. Stat. § 2-2-309 permits a jury on written demand in a matter triable under § 2-2-308.

12. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

12.1 Spendthrift Protection. Each beneficiary's interest is held subject to a "spendthrift trust" within Wyo. Stat. § 4-10-502. The restraint applies only to the extent permitted by Article 5 of the Wyoming Uniform Trust Code, including its child-support or maintenance exception and rules for discretionary and mandatory distributions.

12.2 Simultaneous Death. If a Beneficiary and I die and there is no sufficient evidence that we died otherwise than simultaneously, that Beneficiary shall be deemed to have predeceased me for purposes of this Will. This express direction supersedes the default allocation rules to the extent permitted by Wyo. Stat. § 2-13-102.

12.3 Severability. If any provision of this Will is determined to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

12.4 Headings. Headings are for convenience only and shall not affect interpretation.

12.5 Gender & Number. Words of any gender shall include all genders; words in the singular shall include the plural and vice versa, as the context requires.

12.6 Digital Assets. The Personal Representative and Trustee may request disclosure of, access to, and control over digital assets only to the extent authorized by the Wyoming Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, Wyo. Stat. §§ 2-3-1001 et seq., the governing instrument, applicable federal law, and the custodian's lawful terms.

12.7 Trustee Bond. No Trustee bond is required by this Will. Under Wyo. Stat. § 4-10-702, the Court may require a bond when needed to protect beneficiaries, may dispense with a bond required by the Trust, and may modify or terminate a bond.

13. ATTESTATION & EXECUTION

This block is for a conventional in-person execution under Wyo. Stat. § 2-6-112(a). Wyoming also permits a real-time audio-video and secure electronic-signature route under §§ 2-6-112(b) and 2-6-114; do not combine routes without Wyoming counsel supervising the required technology and certificate.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I, [TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME], subscribe my name to this Will, consisting of [NUMBER] pages, on the date written below, in the presence of two competent witnesses.

_____________________________
[TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME], Testator

14. WITNESS ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We, the undersigned competent and disinterested witnesses, declare that [TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME] signed or acknowledged this Will as the Testator's free and voluntary act, appeared to be an adult person of sound mind and under no constraint or undue influence, and asked us to act as witnesses. We affirm that we are not named beneficiaries under this Will.

1. _________________________ Date: __________
   [WITNESS #1 NAME]
   Address: _____________________________________

2. _________________________ Date: __________
   [WITNESS #2 NAME]
   Address: _____________________________________

15. SELF-PROVING AFFIDAVIT (STATE OF WYOMING)

STATE OF WYOMING )
) ss.
COUNTY OF [COUNTY] )

We, [TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME], [WITNESS #1 NAME], and [WITNESS #2 NAME], the Testator and witnesses respectively, whose names are signed to the foregoing instrument, being first duly sworn, declare to the undersigned authority that the Testator signed and executed the instrument as the Testator's Last Will and signed willingly, or willingly directed another to sign; that the Testator executed it as a free and voluntary act for the purposes expressed; that each witness, in the presence and hearing of the Testator, signed the Will as a witness; and that, to the best of each witness's knowledge, the Testator was at that time an adult person, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.

Subscribed, sworn to, and acknowledged before me by [TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME], the Testator, and subscribed and sworn to before me by [WITNESS #1 NAME] and [WITNESS #2 NAME], witnesses, this ____ day of __________, 20__.

_____________________________
[OFFICIAL NAME AND CAPACITY]

[OFFICIAL SEAL]

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• Wyoming Statutes, Title 2 — Wills, Decedents' Estates and Probate Code: W.S. §§ 2-2-101, 2-2-102, 2-2-308, 2-2-309, 2-3-111, 2-3-1001 et seq., 2-6-101 through 2-6-117, 2-6-124, 2-6-125, and 2-13-101 through 2-13-107.
• Wyoming Statutes, Title 4 — Fiduciaries, Trusts and Estates: W.S. §§ 4-10-203, 4-10-204, 4-10-415, 4-10-502 through 4-10-504, 4-10-702, 4-10-801 through 4-10-816, 4-10-901 through 4-10-913, 4-10-1008, and 4-10-1010.
• Wyoming Statutes, Title 34 — Property, Conveyances and Security Transactions: W.S. § 34-1-139.

END OF DOCUMENT