Vermont living trusts & estate documents

Living trust law in Vermont

A revocable living trust holds your home, accounts, and other property during your life — you stay in full control as trustee and can change or revoke it any time — then passes it to your beneficiaries without probate when you're gone. In Vermont, trusts are governed by the Vermont Trust Code, 14A V.S.A..

Avoiding probate in Vermont

Probate in Vermont is governed by the 14 V.S.A. (Decedents' Estates) and handled by the Probate Division of the Superior Court. See state probate code for administration options.

Vermont offers a simplified small-estate court administration when the estate is $45,000 or less and consists entirely of personal property (14 V.S.A. § 1901). That simplified procedure is set out in Small estate administration, 14 V.S.A. §1902. A funded living trust passes outside probate entirely, whatever the size of the estate — which is why Vermont homeowners in particular set one up.

In Vermont, creditors generally have 4 months after the first published notice (1-year outside bar from death) to file claims against the estate (14 V.S.A. § 1203) — one reason court probate takes time that a funded trust avoids.

Estate and inheritance tax in Vermont

Vermont levies its own estate tax on top of the federal one, and at a much lower exemption: Vermont has an estate tax ($5 million exclusion). The separate federal estate tax reaches only estates above $15 million per person (2026, adjusted yearly), so most families never owe it.

Protecting a surviving spouse in Vermont

A surviving spouse in Vermont who is left out of the will can instead claim an elective share of one-half of the probate estate under 14 V.S.A. § 319 — a protection the will itself cannot override.

Vermont also sets aside a reasonable support allowance plus a $125,000 homestead for a surviving spouse and minor children (14 V.S.A. § 316), protected ahead of most creditors.

Signing your Vermont documents

1. Sign the living trust. Executed and acknowledged before a notary.
2. Sign the will. Two witnesses; notarized self-proving affidavit included (standalone and pour-over wills).
3. Sign the power of attorney. Sign your Durable Power of Attorney before a Notary Public.
4. Sign the health care documents. Sign your Advance Health Care Directive in the presence of two adult witnesses, who then sign the witness statements (each part of the form that shows witness lines is signed the same way). The eligibility rules printed on the form govern who may serve.
5. Follow your package instructions. Your package includes page-by-page signing instructions written for Vermont — follow those as the authoritative guide.

Serving all of Vermont

Answer the questionnaire from anywhere in Vermont and download your completed documents in minutes: Burlington, South Burlington, Rutland, Essex Junction, Bennington, Brattleboro, Milton, Montpelier, Barre, Williston, St. Albans, Winooski, and every community in between.