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Wyoming Statute of Limitations on Debt Collection

George Simons | November 10, 2023

George Simons
Co-Founder of SoloSuit
George Simons, JD/MBA

George Simons is the co-founder and CEO of SoloSuit. He has helped Americans protect over $1 billion from predatory debt lawsuits. George graduated from BYU Law school in 2020 with a JD-MBA. In his spare time, George likes to cook, because he likes to eat.

Edited by Hannah Locklear

Hannah Locklear
Editor at SoloSuit
Hannah Locklear, BA

Hannah Locklear is SoloSuit’s Marketing and Impact Manager. With an educational background in Linguistics, Spanish, and International Development from Brigham Young University, Hannah has also worked as a legal support specialist for several years.

Fact-checked by Patrick Austin, J.D.

Patrick Austin
Attorney from George Mason
Patrick Austin, JD

Patrick Austin is a licensed attorney with a background in data privacy and information security law. Patrick received his law degree at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School, where he served as the Editor-in-Chief for the National Security Law Journal.

Summary: The statute of limitations on debt is ten years in Wyoming for debts related to credit cards, medical, auto loans, student loans, mortgages, and personal loans. It's your responsibility to know the statute and bring it up as a defense in court, which typically leads to a dismissal of such cases.

Wyoming is among the top 10 hardest-working states in the US. However, some residents of the Cowboy State still find themselves in debt in one way or another, prompting debt collectors to attempt multiple debt-recouping strategies. But like other states, Wyoming also has laws that govern debt collection, including the statute of limitations on different types of debts.

Here's everything you need to know about the Wyoming statute of limitation laws.

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Wyoming statute of limitations on debt explained

If you have been sued for old unpaid debt in Wyoming, it's always a great idea to find out the status of the debt to determine whether the lawsuit is legal.

The statute of limitation is the timeframe a debt collector is legally allowed to file a lawsuit against you for a delinquent debt. When this timeframe elapses, the debt collector can't file the lawsuit, although they can continue to pursue you to pay the loan.

The Wyoming statute of limitations on debt is ten years for any debts related to credit card, medical, auto loans, student loans, mortgage, and personal loans. This means that creditors and debt collectors do not have legal grounds to sue you for a debt that is ten or more years old.

However, an expired statute of limitations won't stop creditors and collectors. They may still file suit against you, even for an old debt. It's up to you to bring up the expired statute of limitations as a defense in your case. Defendants who do this typically win their case in Wyoming.

The table below further outlines the statute of limitations on different types of debt in Wyoming:

Statute of Limitations on Debt in Wyoming
Debt Type Deadline
Credit Card 10 years
Medical 10 years
Auto Loan 10 years
Student Loan 10 years
Mortgage 10 years
Judgment 5 years
Source: Wyo. Stat. § 1-3-105

Wyoming is also referred to as a borrowing statute state. This means that there are some isolated cases where the laws of another state can be applied regarding the statute of limitations on debt in Wyoming.

Here are examples of such isolated scenarios:

  • Suppose a debt is considered time-barred in a different state where the legal action was taken. In that case, the debt will also be considered time-barred in Wyoming.
  • If a debt accrued when the debtor resided in another state, the statute of limitations of that state may apply. However, this period can be extended by five years if the legal action was taken before the debtor became a Wyoming resident and the debt is not yet time-barred in the other state.

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What happens when the statute of limitations period expires?

If the statute of limitations period elapses, the debt becomes time-barred, and the collector is prohibited from filing a lawsuit against you. However, some debt collectors may still try to file the lawsuit anyway, especially if the debt has exchanged hands several times.

This is because some of the information about the debt may have been lost along the way. And, as a result, the collector may not be aware of the actual status of the debt.

Either way, don't ignore a debt collection summons from the collector. Instead, plan to respond with your answer on time and state your affirmative defenses. If you fail to respond to the lawsuit, the court might pass a default judgment in favor of the plaintiff, allowing them to garnish your wages or use other means of collecting their debt.

Debt collection process in Wyoming explained

Wyoming follows the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) to protect borrowers and regulate debt collection practices by debt collectors and lenders. These laws explain what a credit collector isn't allowed to do and what a consumer can do if their rights protected by this Act have been violated.

For example, a debt collector isn't allowed to threaten you with a lawsuit for a time-barred debt or to falsely present themselves as a government worker or lawyer. However, if that happens, you can file a complaint against the debt collector.

You also have the right to formally request the debt collector to stop contacting you. The only time the debt collector will contact you, which will most likely happen, is when they serve you with the debt collection court summons or need to ask if you confirm you don't want them to contact you.

Don't let debt collectors push you around. Respond with SoloSuit.

How to answer a debt collection lawsuit in Wyoming

Ideally, you have 20 days to respond to the debt collection suit filed against you if you were served within the state of Wyoming. However, if you were served outside the state, you will have ten extra days to file your answer.

To respond to the summons, you can either fill in the summons forms with the information required or create your own Answer document. The Answer document should contain your response to the lawsuit filed against you. If you have reasons to deny the claims, state all your affirmative defenses in your answer, which may include the debt being time-barred.

The Answer document should include important details, such as the case number and the court where the lawsuit was filed. You should also include your personal information and that of the plaintiff. Once you've completed preparing your answer, you'll need to file the Answer document with the court and serve the plaintiff within the timeframe provided by the state.

Learn more:

Benefits of filing your answer with SoloSuit

Although the traditional process of filing an answer to a debt collection lawsuit seems straightforward, you may experience several challenges along the way. For example, you may not know the right forms to use, how to write the most suitable answer for your situation, where to send your answer document, etc.

Remember, an answer document is a legal document like any other and it could be used against you in court. Secondly, these documents are bound by deadlines that must be strictly adhered to. Before you know it, you'll have run out of time you were legally allowed to respond to the lawsuit, leading to a default judgment against you.

But that doesn't have to be the case when you choose to respond to your debt collection summons via the Solosuit app. In a matter of minutes, this app can help you generate the answer and defenses depending on the information you provide. Then, a SoloSuit attorney will review the answer document and send a copy to the court and another to the plaintiff on your behalf.

Having a SoloSuit attorney review your answer document gives you confidence knowing that the document meets all legal requirements. It also increases your chances of obtaining a favorite outcome, effectively kick-starting your journey to a debt-free life.

What is SoloSuit?

SoloSuit makes it easy to respond to a debt collection lawsuit.

How it works: SoloSuit is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your answer. Upon completion, you can either print the completed forms and mail in the hard copies to the courts or you can pay SoloSuit to file it for you and to have an attorney review the document.

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"First time getting sued by a debt collector and I was searching all over YouTube and ran across SoloSuit, so I decided to buy their services with their attorney reviewed documentation which cost extra but it was well worth it! SoloSuit sent the documentation to the parties and to the court which saved me time from having to go to court and in a few weeks the case got dismissed!" – James

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