Hiring a Bankruptcy Lawyer in Wyoming
How bankruptcy lawyers are paid, the Wyoming means test and exemptions, how to check a lawyer's license, and free help. We do not recommend or rank lawyers.
What a lawyer costs in Wyoming: fee rules
| If you disagree with a lawyer's bill | The Wyoming State Bar offers fee arbitration for fee disputes over $500 (disputes of $500 or less are not eligible). Generally you must file within one year after the later of the end of the lawyer-client relationship or the final bill; if the lawyer sues over the fee, you have 30 days after service of the required notice. Complete the Petition for Fee Arbitration and upload copies of bills and supporting documents. The bar sends it to the attorney, who has 21 days to respond; the Fee Arbitration Committee chair tries informal resolution, and if that fails within 30 days a panel holds a hearing and issues a written decision. |
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| If a lawyer takes your money | The Wyoming State Bar's Client Protection Fund reimburses clients who lose money or property through a lawyer's dishonest conduct (such as theft, embezzlement or conversion, including failure to refund advance fees), or when a lawyer dies or becomes incapacitated while holding client money, within a lawyer-client relationship. It does not cover negligence, business or investment losses, interest, or losses covered by insurance or bonds; awards are discretionary. The maximum is $15,000 per claimant per calendar year. File within four years after you knew or should have known of the dishonest conduct, using the notarized Statement of Claim (fill out online, then print, sign and mail) with proof of loss; a lawyer is not required. Questions: (307) 432-2104. |
Wyoming rules to know first
| Standard Chapter 13 lawyer fee | District of Wyoming (the state's only bankruptcy district): under Local Rule 2016-1(A), Attorney Fee Applications in Chapter 13 Cases (Local Bankruptcy Rules and Forms effective July 1, 2012), the debtor's attorney must file a fee application in a chapter 13 case, but if the fees and expenses requested do not exceed a total of $3,500.00, exclusive of the filing fee, an itemization of time and services is not required. The rule states this fee is intended to compensate counsel for all reasonable fees incurred to achieve confirmation of a chapter 13 plan, absent extraordinary circumstances; notice of the application must be given under Fed. R. Bankr. P. 2002(a)(6). |
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| Means test median income | Median family income for Wyoming: 1 person $71,745; 2 people $91,502; 3 people $98,476; 4 people $110,297; add $11,100 for each additional person beyond 4. These figures apply to bankruptcy cases filed on or after July 15, 2026. Used in the Chapter 7 means test (Official Forms 122A-1 and 122C-1). The table's first column is labeled "1 EARNER." The same figures were posted for cases filed April 1 through July 14, 2026. The U.S. Trustee Program updates the table periodically. |
| Homestead exemption | Every Wyoming resident is entitled to a homestead exemption of up to $100,000 in value, which applies only while the owner or the owner's family occupies the home. When two or more people jointly own and live in the same residence, each is entitled to the exemption. The homestead may be a house on a lot or on other land of any number of acres, or a house trailer or other movable home, so the statute sets no acreage limit. Read in the Wyoming Legislature's compiled Title 1 statutes PDF. The exemption does not apply against a debt for the purchase money of the property, and the person claiming it must be a bona fide Wyoming resident (§ 1-20-108). |
| State or federal exemptions | Wyoming has opted out of the federal bankruptcy exemptions. The federal exemption list in 11 U.S.C. 522(d) is not available when Wyoming law applies on the filing date and the debtor's domicile has been in Wyoming for the 180 days before filing (or for longer during that period than anywhere else). Those filers use Wyoming's state exemptions. Read in the Wyoming Legislature's compiled Title 1 statutes PDF. Source: Wyo. Stat. § 1-20-109 |
Find and check a lawyer
| Lawyer referral service | The Wyoming State Bar runs a Lawyer Referral Service. Its Lawyer Referral Directory lists only attorneys who are part of the referral program and is searchable by practice area; you can also request a referral online. Wyoming State Bar phone: 307-632-9061. |
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| Check that the lawyer is licensed | The Wyoming State Bar's Member Directory lets you search all lawyers licensed in Wyoming. It is separate from the bar's Lawyer Referral Directory, which lists only attorneys in the referral program. |
| Check discipline history or file a complaint | Complaints about Wyoming lawyers go to the Wyoming State Bar's Office of Bar Counsel. Complete the Ethical Violations Complaint Form, sign and date it (complaints are sworn under penalty of perjury; anonymous complaints are not accepted), and mail the original with copies of supporting documents to Office of Bar Counsel, P.O. Box 109, Cheyenne, WY 82003-0109; questions (307) 432-2104. Bar Counsel looks at possible violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct, such as missed deadlines, abandoning a case or mishandling client funds, but not the quality of a lawyer's advice or strategy alone, fee disputes (handled by fee arbitration) or rudeness. The lawyer receives a copy of the complaint; the complaint and investigation stay confidential unless a Formal Charge is filed, and you are notified before that happens. |
Free legal help
| Free legal aid | Legal Aid of Wyoming provides free civil legal help to low-income individuals in Wyoming. Apply online or call 1-877-432-9955. LSC lists Legal Aid of Wyoming as its Wyoming grantee. LSC grantee list: https://www.lsc.gov/about-lsc/our-grantees |
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All legal help in Wyoming · Do I need a lawyer?
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.