Harton Law Firm

Accessible, Convenient, Affordable Legal Services for the People of Wyoming

Steve Harton

What Does JTWROS Mean?

You may have seen JTWROS written after your name on your car title, but what does it mean? JTWROS means Joint Tenants With Rights of Survivorship. But what does that mean?

When two or more people own property such as a car together, they can own it in a couple of ways. One way is as tenants in common, the other is joint tenants with rights of survivorship.

The difference becomes important when one of the co-owners dies.

Tenants in Common

If a person co-owns property as a tenant in common, and then dies, then his heirs get his share of the property. So if you co-own a car with your boyfriend, and your boyfriend dies, then you might be a co-owner of the car with his parents or his kids.

Joint Tenants With Rights of Survivorship

If on the other hand, a person co-owns property as a JTWROS, and then dies, then the other co-owner(s) receive the property.

This is why people use JTWROS as a way to avoid probate.

It is also useful for unmarried couples to own property like this together. If something happens to one of them, then the other gets the property. It does not matter who the heirs are, or who is in the decedent’s will. The property passes outside of probate.

When is JTWROS Not a Good Idea?

It is not a good idea when you want the property to pass to the dying co-owner’s heirs. For instance, if a parent has four children, and each of the four kids have children of their own. The parent might want each of their kids’ share of the property to pass on to their own children.

Conclusion

Holding property as Joint Tenants With Rights of Survivorship can be a good idea. However, you have to know what it means in order to know if you really want to own property as JTWROS.

By Steve Harton

 

 

Get a Cheap Divorce in Wyoming

Everyone knows a divorce is expensive. Or is it?

It is possible to get a cheap divorce in Wyoming. Maybe even a free divorce!

In this post I will explain how.

Keys to a Cheap Divorce

The key to a cheap divorce is cooperation. You and your spouse must:

  • both want the divorce,
  • agree on all of the terms, and
  • cooperate in drafting, signing and filing the divorce papers with the court.

Believe it or not, there are divorcing couples who get along well enough to get this done.

However, without cooperation, your divorce will definitely not be free, or even cheap.

Cheap Divorce Process

Assuming you and your spouse both want to get this divorce done without drama or expense, you should take the following steps.

Get Free Divorce Papers

The Wyoming Supreme Court has prepared a packet of all the divorce forms you need, with instructions. You can download the forms for free from this site.

You can also you buy the packet from the Clerk of District Court, but they will charge you $15.

Request a Waiver of Filing Fees

You can get request the Court to waive the filing fees. If you are poor enough, the Court will waive the $110 filing fee.

The forms to request the waiver can be found here, in Packet No. 10, forms Misc. 7 and Misc. 8.

Complete the Divorce Papers

Take some time with your spouse, and fill out the forms together. Make two copies of all the forms. This will cost nothing, except the cost of copies.

File the Divorce Papers with the Court

Once you have the papers completed and copied, take them to the District Court.  File everything. This will cost nothing, if the Court waived your filing fees. Otherwise it will be $110.

If you filled out the papers correctly, the Judge will sign the Decree of Divorce in about 21 days.

Conclusion

As you can see, if you and your spouse cooperate, then you can get a divorce for the low price of $110. If you are also poor, then you could get a divorce for free.

By Steve Harton

How Much Does It Cost to File for Divorce?

You have agonized over this for weeks or even months. And you have now decided that you want to divorce your husband.

But money is tight already. You know it will get even tighter once you start living apart. You wonder, how much does it cost to file for divorce in Wyoming?

Can you afford it?

The Cost of Filing for Divorce in Wyoming

A divorce does not have to cost a lot, but it will almost always cost something. In this article, we will review some of the costs that you might incur.

Divorce Complaint Filing Fee

In Wyoming, divorces are filed in District Court. There is an $85.00 filing fee for all new district court cases, including divorces.

So $85.00 is usually the minimum cost to file for a divorce.*

Service of Process Costs

After you file the divorce, your spouse has to accept service of the Complaint and Summons. If your spouse does not want to sign the Acceptance of Service, then you will have to serve him.

Service of the Complaint and Summons generally costs $50.00, if it is done by a Sheriff in Wyoming.

If your spouse does not live in Wyoming, the cost of service could be more or less, depending on where he lives.

If you don’t know where your spouse lives, then you will have to serve him by publication. The cost of publishing the Notice of Complaint for Divorce is about $300 to $400.

Waiver of Filing Fees and Service of Process Fees

In some cases, the Court may waive the filing fees and service of process fees.

To find out if this will work for you, you must file an Affidavit of Indigency and Request for Waiver of Filing Fees and All Fees Associated Therewith. This is a standard court form. You basically provide a sworn statement detailing your finances to the Court. If you qualify, the Court will waive your filing fee and your service of process fee.

It can take several weeks to process your request for waiver of fees. So you have to decide if it is worth waiting to see if you can save a total of $135.00.

Conclusion

It will (usually) cost a minimum of $85.00 to file for divorce.*

If you have to serve your spouse in Wyoming, it will cost another $50.00. If you have to serve him out of state, or have to serve him by publication, then it will cost another $400 or so.

*However, and there always seems to be a however in the law, if you qualify, the Court can waive your filing and process service fees. In that case, it will cost $0.00 to file for divorce.

By Steve Harton

How Long Does a Divorce Take If Both Parties Agree?

How long a divorce takes depends on what the parties agree on. If the Parties agree that they both want a divorce, that is a good first step. However, to make the divorce happen fast, they must agree on the terms of the divorce.

Divorce Waiting Period in Wyoming

Wyoming, as most states, has a waiting period before you can get a divorce. It is twenty (20) days from the date of filing for divorce.

So that is the shortest possible time to get a divorce. On the twenty first date after filing the Complaint. It does happen occasionally, but it is hard to pull off.

Parties in Agreement on Divorce Terms

A Judge will only sign a Divorce Decree if is correctly drafted, and both Parties, or their attorneys, have already signed it.

The only way to get a decree to a Judge in less than twenty days is for the Parties to agree on all the terms. If there is disagreement on anything, then things will take longer.

Agreement on Property Division

If the marriage was short, and there is not a lot of property to divide, then this can be done quickly. If the marriage is longer, and the Parties have more stuff, then it might take a while to figure out the value of various things, and then agree on a fair division.

When there is real estate involved, the Parties have a lot more decisions to make and issues to negotiate. They may need to wait for an appraisal.

If they decide to sell the home, then who will stay in the home while it is on the market? Will that person pay the mortgage, taxes, utilities and repairs? How will they decide which offer to accept?

If they do not sell, then who is going to keep the home? How much will the home keeper pay to their spouse for the equity? How and when are they going to make that payment?

Agreement on Debt Allocation

If there are few debts, then this dividing them is easier. If the debts are in the spouses’ individual names, then the division is even easier.

Short marriages and very long marriages have the fewest debts. However, most marriages result in a number of joint debts. In those cases, the Parties need to decide who is going to take which joint debt, how will they get each other off those debts. The parties also need to decide, and put in the decree, what will happen if a party cannot pay the debts they took on.

Agreement on Retirement Accounts

Retirement accounts and 401k’s can be major marital assets even in relatively short marriages. If one of the spouses began their plan prior to the marriage, then figuring out the other spouse’s share can be time consuming.

Agreement on Custody, Visitation and Support

When there are minor children, the Parties have a whole lot more things to agree on.

  • Where will the children live?
  • How often will they visit the other parent?
  • Where will the Parties exchange the kids?
  • Which parent will have which holiday?
  • How much is child support?

Conclusion

The time it takes to divorce will depend on what the Parties agree on. The more they have, the more opportunity for disagreement. The more disagreement, the longer the divorce takes.

If there is agreement on everything, and the Parties get their Decree drafted and signed, then they can get a Wyoming divorce in twenty one (21) days.

If there is more than one attorney involved, and the Parties agree on everything, then it will take a little longer. That’s because each attorney will need to review the documents, and probably tweak the language, before it can be submitted to the Judge. It can still be done in a month or two.

If all the Parties agree on is that they want a divorce, but they fight about all the terms, then their divorce will probably take longer than a year.

By Steve Harton

Powers and Duties of a Guardian

We must keep in mind that a guardian is only appointed when the ward (the person with a guardian) has some disability. The disability might be mental or physical, or a combination of both. It could also be the “infirmities of old age.” However, it must be a disability that prevents him or her from managing their day to their affairs.

That is why the duties and powers of a guardian reflect the role that parents might play with respect to their child. In fact, Wyoming laws provide that the guardian of a minor has the powers and responsibilities of a parent who has not been deprived of custody of his minor child.

Some Powers are Also Duties of a Guardian

Just as parents have powers and duties towards their children, guardians are allowed and required to do the following:

  1. Determine and facilitate the least restrictive and most appropriate and available residence for the ward – this means that the guardian cannot institutionalize a ward, if the ward could live in a group home, or on their own, with assistance.
  2. Facilitate the ward’s education, social and other activities – a guardian needs to send the ward to school, if appropriate. Guardian should also take a senior ward to the senior center for Wii bowling, etc.
  3. Authorize or expressly withhold authorization of medical or other professional care, treatment or advice, with some restrictions – make sure the ward receives appropriate medical care.
  4. Take reasonable care of the ward’s personal property and commence protective proceedings if necessary.
  5. Apply to the ward’s current needs for support, care and education as much of the money or property paid or delivered to the guardian as may be appropriate, and exercise due care to conserve excess funds for the ward’s future needs – in other words, make sure the ward is taken care of, but don’t blow their income.
  6. Pay to the conservator excess funds at least annually.
  7. Following the death of a ward, arrange for the final disposition of the ward’s remains according to the ward’s expressed wishes if known, if the immediate family is unavailable or unwilling to assume responsibility. For purposes of this paragraph, “immediate family” is defined as parents, spouse, grandparents, siblings and adult children.

Some Additional Powers of a Guardian

The following powers are not duties:

  1. Receive money payable from any conservatorship for the support of the ward – if a conservator is supposed to pay money to the ward, he can pay it to the guardian.
  2. Receive money or property of the ward and institute proceedings to compel the performance by any person of the duty to support or contribute to the support of the ward – if the ward is entitled to receive money from a trust or conservator, the guardian can file an action to make sure those moneys are not withheld.
  3. Consent to the marriage or adoption of the ward – this is a biggie. A ward cannot be married without the consent of the guardian, but the guardian does not have to consent.

Miscellaneous Powers and Duties of a Guardian

Continuing on with the theme of a guardian as “parent” of the ward, there are a couple of additional provisions in the laws:

The guardian is not liable for injury to the ward resulting from the negligence or acts of third persons performed by authority given by the guardian for medical or other professional care, treatment or advice, unless it would have been negligent for a parent to have given that authority. In other words, take the ward to appropriate treatment providers, or you will be liable for any injuries they may suffer.

A Guardian may not use funds paid to the ward to pay themselves caretaker fees.

On the other hand, a guardian who is not a parent of the minor is not obligated to expend his own funds for the support of the ward, and

Unlike a parent, a guardian who is not the parent of a minor, is not liable to third persons for acts of the ward.

Some Powers of a Guardian Requiring Court Approval

Some powers of the guardian have a huge impact on the ward’s rights and liberties. Therefore, the ward must get approval from the Court before doing any of the following:

  1. Commit the ward to a mental health hospital or other mental health facility.
  2. Consent to electroshock therapy, psychosurgery, sterilization or other long-term or permanent contraception.
  3. Relinquish the ward’s minor child for adoption, and
  4. Execute any appropriate advance medical directives, including durable power of attorney for health care and an individual health care directive.

Conclusion

The powers and duties of a guardian with respect to the ward mimic the powers and duties a parent may have towards their child. A guardian assumes a great responsibility for another human being. Therefore, the decision to become a guardian should not be taken lightly.

By Steve Harton