Do you need a real estate attorney to close in Wyoming?

What the law requires

The statutes in Titles 26, 33 and 34 contain no rule that a buyer, seller or lender must use a lawyer at closing. Three provisions frame the question:

• Title agents may close. A title insurer or title agent “may engage in the escrow, settlement, or closing business” if it keeps buyer and seller funds in a separate fiduciary trust account, pays interest to the depositing party unless the instructions say otherwise, and keeps separate records (§ 26-23-314).
• Title agents are licensed. No one may act as a title agent without a license. An applicant must pass an exam on title search and examination, insurance principles and “the fiduciary duties and procedures of escrows, closings and settlements” (§ 26-23-316).
• Legal advice stays with lawyers. The Title Insurance Act says nothing in it authorizes “the practice of law by any person who is not admitted to practice law in this state” (§ 26-23-302(c)). Separately, only members of the Wyoming State Bar may hold themselves out as attorneys (§ 33-5-117).

I did not find a Wyoming statute or court rule that defines the “practice of law” for a real estate closing. The Wyoming State Bar’s website was blocked to my tools, so I could not read its opinions. A question about whether a non-lawyer may draft a specific document should go to the State Bar or to a Wyoming attorney.

Who conducts closings in practice

Three kinds of people may be involved in a Wyoming sale, each with a different job.

An “escrow, settlement or closing fee” is defined as payment “for supervising the actual execution, delivery or recording of transfer and lien documents and for disbursing funds” (§ 26-23-303(a)(viii)). Agents are expected to send you to experts: a licensee acting as an intermediary must advise the parties to obtain expert advice on matters beyond the licensee’s expertise (§ 33-28-305(b)(ii)(B)). The same duty applies to seller’s and buyer’s agents (§§ 33-28-303(a)(iii)(E) and 33-28-304(a)(iii)(E)). For how a closing works, see our closing costs explained and title insurance guide.

Typical attorney fee

No official source I read gives a typical Wyoming attorney fee for a residential closing. Lawyers set their own rates, and the fee depends on the work: reviewing a contract, a title commitment or a deed, or handling a problem such as a boundary dispute. Ask for a flat fee or an hourly rate in writing before you hire anyone. The Wyoming State Bar’s lawyer referral information was not readable to me; contact the Bar directly.

When an attorney is worth it anyway

The law does not require one, but the cost of a mistake can be high. Consider a Wyoming attorney when:

• the title commitment shows liens, easements or severed mineral rights you do not understand (see seller disclosure for the vacant-land rules);
• you buy at a foreclosure sale, where the notice itself warns that the property “may be subject to other liens and encumbrances that will not be extinguished at the sale” (W.S. 34-4-105; see foreclosure);
• you buy from an estate, a trust or a seller with a power of attorney;
• the purchase contract has unusual terms or contingencies;
• you are the seller and a buyer’s claim worries you.

For the lawyer’s role and the title agent’s role, the statutes draw the line above. Cheyenne buyers who want to compare local costs can start at our Cheyenne page.