WYOMING BAR EXAM DISTINCTIONS — ONE-PAGE CHEAT SHEET
Condensed companion to the Wyoming Bar Exam Distinctions long outline.
1. EXAM & ADMISSION
· UBE jurisdiction: MBE (50%) + MEE (30%) + MPT (20%); single portable scaled score transferable to and from other UBE states · passing score 270 out of 400 · because the UBE tests uniform multistate law rather than Wyoming law, Wyoming conditions admission on a separate mandatory Wyoming Law course/component, plus character-and-fitness review and the MPRE · practical rule: write pure national law on the UBE essays (do not inject Wyoming distinctions unless a question expressly names the jurisdiction, which it generally will not), and reserve the rules below for the Wyoming-law assessment and real-world practice.
2. MARITAL PROPERTY & FAMILY LAW
· separate-property / equitable-distribution state — NO community property (a sharp contrast with Wisconsin); during marriage, property belongs to the title-holding or acquiring spouse and the other spouse has no present ownership interest · divorce: §20-2-114 directs the court to divide property "as appears just and equitable," and the statute does NOT categorically wall off separate property — Wyoming courts may reach and divide ALL property, including premarital, gifted, and inherited assets, in their equitable discretion (the breadth of the divisible estate is the headline family-law distinction; contrast classic equitable-distribution states that exclude separate property) · sole divorce ground is irreconcilable differences (no-fault) · spousal maintenance is discretionary and disfavored as a permanent award; courts prefer property division and rehabilitative support · child support uses the income-shares model with presumptive guideline amounts based on the parents' combined net income (§20-2-304) · custody decided by best-interest factors (§20-2-201), which expressly weigh each parent's relative competency and any spousal or child abuse.
3. WILLS, TRUSTS & ESTATES
· standard will needs a writing + the testator's signature + attestation by 2 competent witnesses (§2-6-112) · HOLOGRAPHIC WILLS RECOGNIZED — a will written entirely in the testator's hand and signed is valid with NO witnesses (§2-6-113); contrast the many states (including Wisconsin) that reject holographic wills · elective share is the conventional common-law fractional share: 1/2 if the decedent leaves no surviving children, 1/4 if the decedent leaves surviving children (§2-5-101) — NOT a deferred-marital-property concept · intestacy (§2-4-101): surviving spouse takes 1/2 if descendants survive, and a larger defined share where only collateral heirs (parents, siblings) survive · surviving spouse and minor children are protected by homestead occupancy, a homestead allowance, an exempt-property allowance, and a family allowance during administration (§2-7-501); a value-based homestead exemption also shields homestead value from creditors during life (§1-20-101).
4. EVIDENCE (Wyoming Rules of Evidence)
· the W.R.E. are promulgated by the Wyoming Supreme Court and patterned directly on the FRE with parallel numbering (401, 403, 801...) — the federal framework is the right baseline · Daubert reliability standard governs expert testimony under W.R.E. 702 · statutory physician-patient privilege §1-12-101 (no general FRE equivalent), alongside the standard attorney-client, spousal, and clergy privileges — the physician-patient privilege is waived once a plaintiff puts her physical condition at issue · Wyoming applies a structured, mandatory multi-step 404(b) analysis before admitting prior-bad-acts / other-acts evidence · the residual hearsay exception is occasionally read differently from federal practice · bottom line: default to the FRE and flag the short list of departures.
5. REAL PROPERTY
· recording act = RACE-NOTICE (§34-1-120) — a subsequent purchaser for value prevails over a prior unrecorded interest only if she took without notice (actual, constructive, or inquiry) AND recorded first; a notice-only analysis loses points · adverse possession = 10 years (10 years, adverse and continuous).
7. ESTATES
Holographic wills are valid in Wyoming (entirely in the testator's hand, signed) · conventional fractional elective share (1/2 if no surviving children, otherwise 1/4) · UPC-influenced intestacy.
8. BUSINESS & PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY
Wyoming enacted the first U.S. LLC statute (1977) and is a charging-order-friendly entity haven · apply the Wyoming Rules of Professional Conduct (ABA Model Rules with local variation).
9. CRIMINAL
Statutory homicide degrees; stand-your-ground / castle doctrine recognized · the MBE tests federal constitutional criminal procedure.
KEY FLAGS
UBE (cut score 270) · broad divisible estate on divorce (premarital, gifted, and inherited property all reachable) · holographic wills valid · race-notice recording · modified-51% comparative fault compared against combined defendant fault, with joint & several liability abolished (several only) · constitutional bar on damages caps · Governmental Claims Act notice prerequisite · nonjudicial power-of-sale foreclosure with statutory redemption.