Small estate checker for Vermont
Enter the date of death and what the person owned. The page adds what the state counts and compares it with the limit for that date. It does not decide anything.
The limits this checker uses
These come from the state's law as we checked it. The checker picks the row that matches the date of death you enter.
Small estate proceeding (14 V.S.A. 1901-1903; V.R.P.P. 80.3)
Also in Vermont (not tested here)
These procedures have their own rules, so the checker does not test them. See the state page.
- Affidavit procedure for small estates (V.R.P.P. 80.3(g))
What counts toward the limit in Vermont
Add up the fair market value of the person's estate. It must be all personal property; if the person owned real estate other than a timeshare, the small estate procedure cannot be used.
Law: 14 V.S.A. 1901
| 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 |
Cars and other vehicles | Counts | Vehicles are personal property and count. A surviving spouse can often retitle up to two vehicles at the DMV without opening an estate. Law: 14 V.S.A. 1901(a); 23 V.S.A. 2023 |
Boats and mobile or manufactured homes | Counts | Boats and other personal property count. Law: 14 V.S.A. 1901(a) |
Real estate in Vermont | Left out | Real estate is not added to the total, but if the person owned real estate other than a timeshare, the small estate procedure cannot be used. A timeshare can be included and counts. Law: 14 V.S.A. 1901(a) |
Main home (primary residence) | Left out | The home is real estate. If the person owned it, the small estate procedure cannot be used. Law: 14 V.S.A. 1901(a) |
Real estate in another state | Not clear | The law does not say whether real estate in another state prevents a small estate; ask the Probate Division. Law: 14 V.S.A. 1901 |
Unpaid wages owed to the person | Counts | Money owed to the person, such as unpaid wages, counts. Law: 14 V.S.A. 1901(a) |
Military pay owed to the person | Not clear | The law does not address military pay separately; ask the Probate Division. Law: 14 V.S.A. 1901 |
Life insurance or retirement money paid to a named person | Not clear | The law does not address benefits paid to a named beneficiary; the court page says an estate is needed only for assets in the person's sole name. Law: 14 V.S.A. 1901 |
Life insurance or retirement money paid to the estate | Counts | Insurance or retirement money payable to the estate counts. Law: 14 V.S.A. 1901(a) |
Property in a living trust | Not clear | The law does not address trust property; ask the Probate Division. Law: 14 V.S.A. 1901 |
Property owned jointly with right of survivorship | Not clear | The law does not address jointly owned property; ask the Probate Division. Law: 14 V.S.A. 1901 |
Property going to a surviving spouse | Counts | Property going to the spouse under the will or inheritance law counts. Law: 14 V.S.A. 1901(a) |
Stocks, bonds and brokerage accounts | Counts | Stocks and bonds in the person's name count. Law: 14 V.S.A. 1901(a) |
Furniture, jewelry and other belongings | Counts | Furniture, jewelry and other belongings count. Law: 14 V.S.A. 1901(a) |
Source: Official page
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
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
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.
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.