Wyoming counsel · Cheyenne office · (307) 333-7539
You have read that Wyoming is the place to put the parent company. Some of that advice is sound, and some of it is sold by companies that file paperwork for a fee.
Wyoming’s holding company advantage is real, and it is narrower than the internet suggests. The creditor protection is genuine and unusually strong. The privacy is partial. And forming here does not move your business out of the state where you actually operate. Deep Waters Law is a Cheyenne firm; we act as Wyoming counsel and work alongside your lawyer or CPA at home.
What a holding company actually is
A holding company does not trade, employ people, or sign customer contracts. It owns things: the membership interests of other LLCs, real estate, equipment leased to an operating company, or intellectual property licensed to one. The operating businesses sit underneath it as separate subsidiaries.
The point is to put a legal wall between the assets and the activity that generates lawsuits. If a tenant sues the LLC that owns one building, the claim reaches that building. It does not automatically reach the other two, the equipment, or the operating company, because different entities own them.
The charging order: the part that matters
If a creditor wins a judgment against you personally, it will come after what you own, including your interest in the holding company. In many states, the creditor can foreclose on that interest and end up with your seat at the table.
Wyoming does not permit that. Under Wyo. Stat. § 17-29-503, a charging order is “the exclusive remedy by which a person seeking to enforce a judgment against a judgment debtor” may reach the debtor’s interest in an LLC. Other remedies, “including foreclosure on the judgment debtor’s limited liability interest and a court order for directions, accounts and inquiries,” are not available and “may not be ordered by the court.”
In plain terms, the creditor can receive your distributions if any are made. It cannot force a distribution, foreclose on your interest, take over management, or have a receiver appointed over the company. That protection is written into the statute, not left to a judge’s discretion.
Two honest limits. It protects your interest in the company from your personal creditors. It does not protect the company’s assets from the company’s own creditors. And a transfer made to escape a creditor who is already circling can be undone as a fraudulent transfer. The structure works when it is built before there is a problem.
What “anonymous” does and does not mean
Under § 17-29-201, the articles must contain the company’s name and its registered agent. Members and managers are not required, so the public formation record does not name you.
Your bank will know, because opening an account requires ownership information. The IRS will know. A court can order disclosure, and litigation routinely produces it. Federal beneficial-ownership reporting rules have been in flux, so confirm where they stand when you form. Anonymity here means the public cannot look you up in a state database. It does not mean the government, a bank, or an opposing party cannot find out who owns the company. People sometimes form Wyoming entities expecting a level of secrecy that does not exist and would not be lawful to provide.
Series LLCs
Wyoming allows a single LLC to create separate series of members, managers, interests, or assets, with liability walls between them (§ 17-29-211). For an owner of several properties, it is an alternative to forming a separate LLC for each. Use it with care. Series LLCs are newer than the case law that would tell us how courts treat them, particularly courts in other states, and lenders and title companies may not know how to underwrite them. For many clients, ordinary subsidiary LLCs are the more conservative structure and cost little more to maintain.
What forming in Wyoming does not do
The most common and most expensive misunderstanding: a Wyoming entity does not relocate your business. If you live in California and manage California rentals through a Wyoming LLC, California will generally still treat you as doing business there. That usually means registering as a foreign entity at home and paying that state’s fees and taxes. Wyoming has no corporate income tax, which is a real advantage for a passive holding entity, but it is not an escape from the tax obligations of the state where the income is earned. Any advice that leads with tax avoidance and does not mention foreign registration deserves skepticism.
Cost and upkeep
Formation is inexpensive and fast. The real cost is maintenance: a Wyoming registered agent, an annual report and license tax for each entity, and, most importantly, actually running the entities as separate businesses. That is where structures fail. Separate bank accounts, real operating agreements, documented transactions between parent and subsidiary, leases that exist on paper. A holding company that shares an account with its subsidiaries and has no operating agreement invites a veil-piercing argument, and the wall you paid for will not be there when you need it.
Why use a lawyer rather than a filing service
A filing service will form the entity correctly and cheaply. It will not tell you whether the structure suits your facts, whether your home state undoes the benefit, how the entities should own each other, what the operating agreements need to say, or whether a series makes sense. It cannot advise you, because it is not a law firm.
Francis H. McVay is a trial and appellate lawyer. He has prosecuted cases, defended them, and argued before the Wyoming Supreme Court. These structures exist to be tested by somebody’s lawyer one day, and they should be built by someone who has been on the other side of that test.
Frequently asked questions
What are the benefits of a Wyoming holding company?
Three that hold up: liability separation between the assets and the operating business; charging-order protection under § 17-29-503; and no state corporate income tax on a passive holding entity. Privacy is a fourth, with real limits.
What are the downsides?
Cost and discipline. Every entity needs its own agent, report, bank account, books, and operating agreement, and the dealings between them have to be documented. For a single small business in one location, it is usually not worth it.
What if I live somewhere else?
You will generally have to register the entity where you actually do business and pay that state’s fees and taxes. The Wyoming benefits that survive are the charging order and liability separation.
How much does it cost?
The state filing is modest, and the registered agent is an annual fee, multiplied by the number of entities. The larger figure is the legal work to structure it properly, which we quote at a flat rate once we know how many entities are involved. Formation that works is priced like advice, because that is what it is.
Does a Wyoming LLC keep my name private?
Off the public formation record, yes. Not from your bank, the IRS, a court, or an opposing party. Treat it as privacy from the public, not secrecy from institutions.
Should I use a series LLC instead of several LLCs?
Sometimes. Series can be efficient for multiple properties, but they are less tested, and out-of-state courts, lenders, and title companies may treat them unpredictably.
Do I need a Wyoming lawyer if I do not live in Wyoming?
For advice on the entity itself, yes. Wyoming law governs the company, the charging-order protection, and the operating agreements. You will usually also want home-state counsel for tax and registration, and we are used to working alongside them.
Talk to a lawyer today
The structure only works if it is built before there is a problem. Call while there is not one.
Call (307) 333-7539. Answered 24/7, including weekends. Or request a free consultation.
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This page is general information about Wyoming law as of September 2026 and is not legal or tax advice for your situation. Contacting Deep Waters Law does not create an attorney-client relationship.