Wyoming Statutes

Wyo. Stat. § 14-2-318 (2026)

Costs of proceedings; appointment of counsel.

✓ current as of May 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section WY-LEGwyoleg.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

(a) The court may appoint counsel for any party who is
indigent. Indigency shall be established by written affidavit
signed and sworn to by the party or sworn testimony made a part
of the record of the proceedings. The affidavit or sworn
testimony shall state that the party is without sufficient
money, property, assets or credit to employ counsel in his own
behalf. The court may require further verification of financial
condition as it deems necessary.

     (b) Where petitioner is an authorized agency as defined by
W.S. 14-2-308(a)(ii)(B), it shall pay for the costs of the
action. Costs shall include:

           (i) Fee for the guardian ad litem. If the agency had
entered into an agreement with the office of guardian ad litem
pursuant to W.S. 14-12-101 through 14-12-104 and the office was
appointed to provide the guardian ad litem, the office shall pay
the fee for the guardian ad litem in accordance with that
agreement;

          (ii)   Attorney's fee for an indigent party;

          (iii) Other professional fees incurred by an indigent
party in defense of an action brought under this act.

     (c) Prior to incurring any cost under subsection (b) of
this section application shall be made to the court and written
approval by the court shall be obtained.

     (d) Where petitioner is an authorized agency as defined by
W.S. 14-2-308(a)(ii)(A):

          (i) The district attorney for the county in which the
petition is filed shall represent the authorized agency in all
proceedings under this act;
          (ii) The authorized agency shall pay the reasonable
attorney's fees and expenses for an indigent party incurred in
the defense of an action brought under this act and approved by
the court; and

          (iii) The authorized agency shall pay the guardian ad
litem reasonable fees and expenses approved by the court unless
the agency had entered into an agreement with the office of
guardian ad litem pursuant to W.S. 14-12-101 through 14-12-104
and the office was appointed to provide the guardian ad litem.
If so, the office shall pay the fee for the guardian ad litem in
accordance with that agreement.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 9 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1984–2023 · leading case: In Re Cc, 2004 WY 167 (Wyo. 2004).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

In Re Cc, 2004 WY 167 (Wyo. 2004). · cites it 5× “" Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 14-2-318 (a) (LexisNexis 2003) (emphasis added).”

Tolin v. State, Dep't of Fam. Servs., 294 P.3d 879 (Wyo. 2013). · cites it 4× “Tolin, who was court appointed to represent an indigent parent in a parental rights termination action filed by the State of Wyoming, Department of Family Services (DFS), which is a state agency legislatively obligated to pay for the costs of the action including the indigent…”

LP v. Natrona Cnty. Dep't of Pub. Assistance & Soc. Servs., 679 P.2d 976 (Wyo. 1984). “, § 14-2-308 through § 14-2-318, W.S.1977, 1983 Cum.Supp. and specifically § 14-2-309, according to which LP, the father, is charged and the court has found that he has “abused and neglected” his three minor children.”

In the Matter of the Termination of Parental Rights To: JJD, minor child, Dominique Desiree Sciacca v. State of Wyoming, ex rel. Dep't of Fam. Servs., 2023 WY 52 (Wyo. 2023). · cites it 2× “Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 14-2-318 (a). In In re NRL, this Court cited J.”

In Interest of DG, 825 P.2d 369 (Wyo. 1992). “14-2-312, which requires appointment of a guardian ad li-tem and the right to a jury trial, and W.S. 14-2-318(a) and (d), which require: (a) The court may appoint counsel for any party who is indigent.”

BSC v. Natrona Cnty. Dep't of Fam. Servs., 102 P.3d 890 (Wyo. 2004). · cites it 2× “Indigency shall be established by written affidavit signed and sworn to by the party or sworn testimony made a part of the record of the proceedings.”

PL v. Johnson Cnty. Dep't of Pub. Assistance & Soc. Servs., 761 P.2d 985 (Wyo. 1988). “The district court has discretionary authority to appoint counsel for a parent in termination proceedings as separately addressed in W.S. 14-2-318(a), which provides: “[t]he court may appoint counsel for any party who is indigent.”

In the Matter of the Termination of Parental Rights To: Rvr Kar & Rlr, Minor Child., Frank Landis Roberts, Iv v. State of Wyoming, Dep't of Fam. Servs., 2022 WY 153 (Wyo. 2022). · cites it 9× “Does Wyoming Statute § 14-2-318 create a statutory right to effective assistance of counsel? [¶19] Father asserts Wyoming Statute § 14-2-318(a) (LexisNexis 2021) secures his right 4 Toward the end of the hearing, Father’s counsel was given an opportunity to explain why he had…”

In the Matter of the Attorney's Fees & Costs In the Termination of Parental Rights To: Kmo, Dmo, Cmo, Ako, Dko, Mto, Abo, Eeo, & Jbo, Minor Child., Donald Lee Tolin, Attorney for Hjo, Nat. Mother v. State of Wyoming, Dep't of Fam. Servs., 2013 WY 113 (Wyo. 2013). · cites it 2× “He points this Court to Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 14-2-318 , which he contends provides a basis for the award and requires the State to pay.”

— Wyo. Stat. § 14-2-318(a) — 5 cases

In Re Cc, 2004 WY 167 (Wyo. 2004). “" Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 14-2-318 (a) (LexisNexis 2003) (emphasis added).”

BSC v. Natrona Cnty. Dep't of Fam. Servs., 102 P.3d 890 (Wyo. 2004). “Indigency shall be established by written affidavit signed and sworn to by the party or sworn testimony made a part of the record of the proceedings.”

In the Matter of the Termination of Parental Rights To: Rvr Kar & Rlr, Minor Child., Frank Landis Roberts, Iv v. State of Wyoming, Dep't of Fam. Servs., 2022 WY 153 (Wyo. 2022). “Does Wyoming Statute § 14-2-318 create a statutory right to effective assistance of counsel? [¶19] Father asserts Wyoming Statute § 14-2-318(a) (LexisNexis 2021) secures his right 4 Toward the end of the hearing, Father’s counsel was given an opportunity to explain why he had…”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.