Vermont Probate and Intestate Succession: What Happens Without a Will (2026)

Vermont probate cases go through the Probate Division of the Superior Court, with one division sitting in each county rather than a single statewide court. Vermont has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code's formal and informal track system that many other states use.

Information last verified on 2026-07-16. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

How Probate Works in Vermont

Vermont probate is administered entirely by the Probate Division of the Superior Court, with a division sitting in each of Vermont's counties rather than one centralized statewide court. Someone, usually the executor named in a will or a close heir if there is none, opens the case by filing a petition with the appropriate county Probate Division. The court then formally appoints an executor (if a valid will names one) or an administrator (if the person died intestate), issuing the letters that give that person legal authority to act for the estate.

Unlike states that follow the Uniform Probate Code's separate informal and formal tracks, Vermont uses one standard process for estates that do not qualify for the small-estate procedure described below. After appointment, the personal representative must publish notice to creditors within 30 days, opening a mandatory 4-month creditor claim period. No final distribution to heirs or beneficiaries can occur before that 4-month window closes, regardless of how straightforward the estate otherwise is.

Because of this fixed creditor window, overall Vermont probate typically runs 9 to 18 months from filing to closing, though genuinely simple, uncontested estates sometimes close in around 6 months. Estates involving a dispute over the will, disagreements among heirs, or complex assets commonly take longer. The Vermont Judiciary's Probate Division page outlines the filing requirements county by county.

Intestate Succession in Vermont: Who Inherits Without a Will

Under 14 V.S.A. § 301 et seq., a surviving spouse's share of a Vermont intestate estate depends on whether the decedent left surviving descendants, and if so, whose descendants they are. If the decedent has no surviving descendants at all, the surviving spouse inherits the entire intestate estate outright. If the decedent does leave surviving descendants who are not also descendants of the surviving spouse, such as children from a prior relationship, the surviving spouse receives one-half of the intestate estate, with the other half passing to those descendants.

If there is no surviving spouse or descendant, the estate passes to the decedent's surviving parents in equal shares, or to the sole survivor if only one parent is living. If no parent survives, the estate passes to the decedent's siblings, with the descendants of any deceased sibling inheriting that sibling's share by representation. If there is no surviving parent, sibling, or sibling's descendant, the statute splits the estate: one-half to the paternal grandparents (or their descendants), and one-half to the maternal grandparents (or their descendants). Only after all of these classes of relatives are exhausted does an estate escheat to the State of Vermont, which is rare in practice.

Vermont is not a community property state, so these separate-property rules apply to the entire estate rather than being layered on top of a pre-existing 50/50 marital ownership interest, the way they would be in a community-property state.

One way to make sure your property goes to the people you actually choose, rather than following Vermont's intestate succession order, is to have a valid will in place. recordinglaw.com's free Vermont Last Will and Testament Generator can help you create one, with no account required.

Small Estate and Simplified Probate in Vermont

Vermont offers a simplified track for estates consisting of $45,000 or less in personal property, provided the decedent owned no real estate other than a timeshare interest. Unlike a pure sworn affidavit that bypasses court entirely, Vermont's version still requires filing a Petition to Open Small Estate with the Probate Division under 14 V.S.A. Chapter 81. The petition must include a list of interested persons and an inventory of the estate's assets, along with a bond without surety.

If no interested person objects within 14 days after notice of the petition goes out, the Probate Division can approve the appointment and the small-estate distribution without holding a hearing. This skips the standard 4-month creditor-notice waiting period that applies to full Vermont probate, making the small-estate track meaningfully faster for estates that qualify. Estates with real property beyond a timeshare, or with more than $45,000 in personal property, must use the standard probate process described above.

Vermont Estate Tax

Vermont has no inheritance tax, so beneficiaries never owe Vermont tax simply for receiving an inheritance. Vermont does, however, levy its own state estate tax, entirely separate from the federal estate tax. As of 2026, Vermont's estate tax exemption is $5,000,000 per person, a threshold that has been unchanged since 2021, with a flat 16% rate applied to the value of the estate above that exemption. Unlike the federal exemption, Vermont's exemption is not portable between spouses, meaning a surviving spouse cannot automatically claim an unused portion of the first spouse's exemption.

This is separate from the federal estate tax, which in 2026 applies only to estates above a much higher $15,000,000 per-person exclusion, confirmed on IRS.gov. For most Vermont estates, neither tax applies, but estates in the multi-million-dollar range should factor Vermont's lower, non-portable $5 million threshold into planning well before death, since it catches considerably more estates than the federal tax does.

Do You Need a Probate Attorney?

Many straightforward, uncontested Vermont estates, especially those that qualify for the small-estate procedure, can be handled without hiring a probate attorney. An attorney becomes genuinely valuable when a will is likely to be contested, when heirs disagree about who should serve as administrator, when the estate includes a business interest or out-of-state property, or when the estate is large enough that Vermont's $5 million estate tax exemption is actually in play. For a broader look at how probate works across the country, see Probate by State.

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about probate and intestate succession in Vermont as of the verification date above. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is not a substitute for advice from a probate attorney licensed in Vermont, particularly for a contested estate, a business interest, a blended family, or an estate large enough to raise Vermont estate tax questions. Figures, thresholds, and statutes change; verify current details directly with the Vermont Judiciary or the Vermont Department of Taxes before relying on any figure here.

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Last updated: 2026-07-16. Figures and statutes cited reflect their in-force version as of 2026-07-16.