Probate in Vermont: do you need a lawyer, and what it costs

Settling an estate in Vermont

What an executor deals with after the funeral: the will, the court, creditors, tax and closing the estate. Each fact links to the statute it comes from and shows the date we last read it.

Filing the original will

In Vermont, if you have the original will of the person who died, you must deliver it within 30 days after you learn of the death, either to the Probate Division of the Superior Court for the area where they lived or to the executor named in the will.

14 V.S.A. §§ 103, 106Read the statute · legislature.vermont.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Which court handles probate

In Vermont, estates are handled by the Probate Division of the Superior Court in the probate district (one per county) where the person who died lived. For someone who lived out of state, it can be opened in any district where they had property.

4 V.S.A. § 311aRead the statute · legislature.vermont.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Creditors' deadline to make claims

In Vermont, the executor or administrator publishes a notice to creditors in a local newspaper. Creditors then have four months from the first publication to present claims. If no notice is published, the deadline is longer; check with the probate court.

14 V.S.A. §§ 1201, 1203; V.R.P.P. 64Read the statute · legislature.vermont.govchecked Oct 5, 2026effective Jul 1, 2024

Estate inventory

In Vermont, the executor or administrator must prepare an inventory of everything the person who died owned, with values as of the date of death, and file it with the Probate Division within 60 days after being appointed.

14 V.S.A. § 1051Read the statute · legislature.vermont.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

The order estate debts are paid

In Vermont, if the estate cannot pay every bill, the executor or administrator pays administration costs first, then funeral and burial costs (up to $3,800) together with last illness medical bills, then up to $300 of recent unpaid wages per employee, then all other claims.

14 V.S.A. § 1205Read the statute · legislature.vermont.govchecked Oct 5, 2026effective May 24, 2004

State estate and inheritance tax

Vermont has an estate tax but no inheritance tax. Estates with a Vermont taxable estate under $5 million owe nothing; above that, the tax is 16 percent of the amount over $5 million.

32 V.S.A. § 7442aRead the statute · legislature.vermont.govchecked Oct 5, 2026effective Jan 1, 2021

Closing an estate

In Vermont, an estate is usually closed when the Probate Division approves the executor's or administrator's final account, the Department of Taxes issues a tax clearance, and the court issues a decree of distribution naming who gets what. If everyone agrees and there is no real estate left, the final accounting can be waived.

14 V.S.A. §§ 1055, 1069, 1721; 32 V.S.A. § 7454Read the statute · legislature.vermont.govchecked Oct 5, 2026