Letter asking for the balance on the date of death in Vermont
A short letter that asks a bank or other holder for the value of the person's accounts on the date of death. Banks usually want this before the estate is settled.
What to expect
A bank may ask for a certified death certificate and proof that you are allowed to ask. The bank decides what it will release and when.
Bank accounts after a death in Vermont
Accounts payable or transferable on death, and accounts with a surviving joint owner, pass outside the estate. The Vermont Judiciary says you need to open an estate only if there are assets in the sole name of the person who died; a sole-name account is collected by the fiduciary of the small estate.
Source: Official page
Do bank accounts count toward the small estate limit?
| Kind of property | How it is treated | Details |
|---|---|---|
Bank accounts in the person's name alone | Counts | Bank accounts in the person's name alone count. Law: 14 V.S.A. 1901(a) |
Joint or payable-on-death (POD) bank accounts | Not clear | The small estate law does not say how joint or payable-on-death accounts are treated; ask the Probate Division. Law: 14 V.S.A. 1901 |
Death certificates in Vermont
Copies can be obtained from the state office or any city or town using the state's vital records system; a copy of valid ID and an application are required. A certified copy from the state office costs $10. Recorded fee line: (802) 863-7275.
- Where to get it
- Vermont Department of Health, Vital Records Section, or any city or town clerk using the state's vital records system
- Official page
- Official page
Surviving spouse in Vermont
With no will, a surviving spouse inherits everything if all the person's descendants are also the spouse's (or there are none), and half if some descendants are not the spouse's. A surviving spouse can transfer up to two vehicles at the DMV with no fees, and the court says an estate may not be needed if a vehicle is the only asset and there is a spouse.
Small estate proceeding (14 V.S.A. 1901-1903; V.R.P.P. 80.3)
A short probate case. You file a petition with an inventory, a debts affidavit and a bond without surety. If no one objects within 14 days, the court approves the fiduciary and any will without a hearing.
- Limit
Up to $45,000
The estate's fair market value cannot be more than $45,000, and it must be all personal property, except that it may include a timeshare. If it later turns out the estate was worth more, the fiduciary must ask the court to switch to a regular estate.
- What counts
The fair market value of the person's estate, which must consist entirely of personal property (a timeshare is allowed).
- Waiting period
The law sets no waiting period after the death. An interested person who did not consent in writing gets notice and has 14 days to object.
- Who can use it
The person asking to be appointed fiduciary (executor or administrator) files the petition. Interested persons who do not consent in writing must be notified.
- Court or where to file
Probate Division of the Vermont Superior Court (in the county where the person lived).
- Notary
The debts affidavit is sworn; the fiduciary's final statement of payments is sworn.
- Papers to attach
- Petition to Open Small Estate
- List of interested persons
- Original death certificate
- Inventory of the estate
- Affidavit of Paid & Outstanding Funeral Expenses and Debts for Small Estate
- Small Estate Administration Bond without surety, equal to the estate's value
- The will, if any
- Filing fee or a request to waive it
- Steps
- Fill in the petition, inventory, debts affidavit and bond and file them with the Probate Division with the death certificate, will and fee.
- Interested persons who did not consent get notice and 14 days to object; if none object, the court approves the fiduciary without a hearing.
- The court issues letters of administration, good for one year.
- Within 60 days after the letters, confirm or correct the inventory.
- Pay the funeral costs, debts and the person's final-year income taxes, then distribute the rest under the will or the inheritance law.
- File a Report of Fiduciary of Small Estate and receipts; the court may discharge the fiduciary without a full accounting.
- Fee
The filing fee depends on the estate's value: $50 for an estate of $10,000 or less, $110 for $10,001 to $50,000.
- If you can't pay
You can ask the court to waive the filing fee with the Application to Waive Filing Fees and Service Costs.
- Debts and responsibility
After discharge, distributed property stays subject to claims proven later. Each person who received property must contribute proportionally toward such claims, up to the amount they received. The fiduciary is not liable to distributees for losses when they must repay creditors.
Law: 14 V.S.A. 1901, 1902, 1903; V.R.P.P. 80.3; V.R.P.P. 32 V.S.A. 1434(a)
Source: Official page
Who inherits with no will in Vermont
If there is no will, after debts, funeral costs, allowances and expenses: the spouse gets everything if there are no descendants or all descendants are also the spouse's; if some descendants are not the spouse's, the spouse gets half. The rest goes to descendants; if none, to parents, then brothers and sisters and their descendants, then grandparents and their families.
Law: 14 V.S.A. 311, 314
Source: Official page
Good to know in Vermont
- Vermont's small estate is a court case: estates up to $45,000 with no real estate except a timeshare can be opened with a bond without surety, and approved without a hearing if no one objects within 14 days. A court rule also allows a $50 affidavit filed with the Probate Division.
- A surviving spouse can retitle up to two of the person's vehicles at the DMV with no fees.
- Vermont recognizes enhanced life estate deeds that pass real estate at death without probate.
Changes in 2024–2026
The Vermont Supreme Court amended the small estate affidavit procedure in Rule 80.3(g) of the Rules of Probate Procedure to correct cross references, effective January 1, 2026 (made permanent in August 2026). 14 V.S.A. 1901-1903 were not changed.
Related pages
Free help in Vermont
A court self-help center or a legal aid office can check whether the estate qualifies, free of charge or at low cost.