Vermont estate administration
Small-estate limit: $45,000
This guide explains probate in Vermont: Vermont opens small estates in the Probate Division of the Superior Court and prices estate filings through a statewide statutory value schedule.
Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.
An estate with fair market value not more than $45,000 consisting entirely of personal property may use the small-estate filing; a time-share estate is expressly permitted. No waiting period is published because § 1901 does not state one and the governing court rules were not authenticated.
Commencement of small estateSimplified route
An estate with fair market value not more than $45,000 consisting entirely of personal property may use the small-estate filing; a time-share estate is expressly permitted. No waiting period is published because § 1901 does not state one and the governing court rules were not authenticated.
Eligibility and caveatsCourt cost
Probate entry fees are $50 through $10,000, $110 through $50,000, $265 through $150,000, $500 through $500,000, $1,000 through $1 million, $1,750 through $5 million, $2,500 through $10 million, and $3,250 above $10 million. Separately, 32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(30) sets a flat $50.00 entry fee for the affidavit procedure for small estates under Probate Rule 80.3(h).
Filing-cost detailExecutor compensation
32 V.S.A. § 1143 is the fiduciary-compensation statute: an executor or administrator is paid $4.00 for each day's attendance on the business of the appointment, and in cases of unusual difficulty or responsibility the Probate Division of the Superior Court may allow such further sum as it judges reasonable. The $4.00 per-diem is a nominal, archaic figure, so in any non-trivial estate the operative compensation is the further reasonable sum the court allows rather than a percentage of the estate. That is a fact about the statute, not an omission: Vermont publishes no percentage schedule.
Compensation detailCreditor deadline
14 V.S.A. § 1203 sets two separate claim clocks that must be read apart: a four-month bar running from first publication of notice to creditors where notice is given, and a one-year bar running from death where no notice is published. The four-month period is stated in months, so it is not reduced to a fixed number of days.
14 V.S.A. § 1203 (Vermont General Assembly; reviewed August 9, 2026)
Timeline and creditor detailsVermont decision map
Use this map before opening a form or entering a number. It keeps the Vermont amount test, time gate, court cost, and creditor record separate so one easy figure does not stand in for the whole administration.
| Question | Recorded Vermont answer | Carry into the case |
|---|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Commencement of small estate | Confirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route. |
| What property and basis count? | personal probate property only; gross value for this route. | Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately. |
| What is the amount screen? | $45,000 | Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut. |
| What is the time or deadline record? | No waiting-period number verified; 14 V.S.A. § 1203 sets two separate claim clocks that must be read apart: a four-month bar running from first publication of notice to creditors where notice is given, and a one-year bar running from death where no notice is published. The four-month period is stated in months, so it is not reduced to a fixed number of days. | Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number. |
| What does the cost record establish? | 2 published schedules; the proceeding and value basis control the total. | Ask the Probate Division of the Superior Court about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings. |
| What does compensation use? | 32 V.S.A. § 1143 is the fiduciary-compensation statute: an executor or administrator is paid $4.00 for each day's attendance on the business of the appointment, and in cases of unusual difficulty or responsibility the Probate Division of the Superior Court may allow such further sum as it judges reasonable. The $4.00 per-diem is a nominal, archaic figure, so in any non-trivial estate the operative compensation is the further reasonable sum the court allows rather than a percentage of the estate. That is a fact about the statute, not an omission: Vermont publishes no percentage schedule. The relevant base is the estate accounting. | Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate. |
Arithmetic illustration
The recorded Vermont ceiling is $45,000, and it is tested against personal probate property only, on a basis this site records as gross value for this route. Counted that way, $33,800 sits below the Vermont figure and $56,300 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what Vermont counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.
| Illustrative counted amount | Comparison to the Vermont ceiling | What it does not decide |
|---|---|---|
| $33,800 | Below $45,000 | Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties |
| $56,300 | Above $45,000 | Whether another statutory route or court process applies |
Next evidence to collect
Official material
The Vermont Judiciary probate hub and statewide court-location directory both returned HTTP 200.
The Vermont Judiciary probate page states that forms for small estates and formal estates are found on the Estates and Wills page (linked above). The small-estate route itself is a filing in the Probate Division of the Superior Court in the county of residence rather than a self-executing affidavit; 32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(30) also provides a distinct affidavit procedure for small estates under Probate Rule 80.3(h).
Source trail
This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.
The statutes on this page state the rule. These are the documents the court itself publishes. Every link is probed before release, and any link that stops resolving fails the build rather than staying on the page.
The Vermont Judiciary probate page states that forms for small estates and formal estates are found on this Estates and Wills page.
Each legal input links to the government source reviewed for this page. Source text can change; confirm the current rule before acting.
Reviewed source note: § 1901. Commencement of small estate (a) When a decedent's estate has a fair market value of not more than $45,000.00 and consists entirely of personal property, provided that the estate may include a time-share estate as defined by 32 V.S.A. § 3619(a), an estate may be commenced by filing: (1) a petition to open a probate estate; (2) a list of interested persons; (3) the filing fee; (4) an original death certificate; (5) an inventory of the estate, including information or estimates available at the time of filing; (6) an affidavit of paid and outstanding funeral expenses and any other known or reasonably ascertainable debts of the decedent; (7) a bond without surety in the amount of the fair market value of the estate; and (8) the will, if any.
Reviewed source note: § 1434. Probate cases (a) The following entry fees shall be paid to the Probate Division of the Superior Court for the benefit of the State, except for subdivisions (18) and (19) of this subsection, which shall be for the benefit of the county in which the fee was collected: (1) Estates of $10,000.00 or less $50.00 (2) Estates of more than $10,000.00 to not more than $50,000.00 $110.00 (3) Estates of more than $50,000.00 to not more than $150,000.00 $265.00 (4) Estates of more than $150,000.00 to not more than $500,000.00 $500.00 (5) Estates of more than $500,000.00 to not more than $1,000,000.00 $1,000.00 (6) Estates of more than $1,000,000.00 to not more than $5,000,000.00 $1,750.00 (7) Estates of more than $5,000,000.00 to not more than $10,000,000.00 $2,500.00 (8) Estates of more than $10,000,000.00 $3,250.00
Reviewed source note: (30) Affidavit procedure for small estates pursuant to Rule 80.3(h) of the Vermont Rules of Probate Procedure $50.00
Reviewed source note: § 1201. Notice to creditors (a) The Probate Division of the Superior Court may issue an order excusing the executor or administrator from complying with the notice to creditors provisions of the Rules of Probate Procedure when it appears to the court that: (1) there are no debts existing against the decedent; or (2) that the debts against the decedent are all known to the executor or administrator and there are funds to pay them; or (3) the value of the estate does not exceed the sum of $2,500.00 and is assigned for the support of the surviving spouse.
Reviewed source note: § 1143. Compensation of appointees Persons acting under the authority of the Probate Division of the Superior Court shall be paid as follows: (1) for each day's attendance by executor, administrator, trustee, agent, or guardian, on the business of their appointment, $4.00; (2) for each day's attendance of commissioners, appraisers, or committee, $4.00; and (3) the Probate Division of the Superior Court may allow in cases of unusual difficulty or responsibility such further sum as it judges reasonable.
Reviewed source note: (1) within four months after the date of the first publication of notice to creditors if notice is given in compliance with the Rules of Probate Procedure; provided, however, that claims barred by the nonclaim statute of the decedent's domicile before the first publication for claims in this State are also barred in this State; (2) within one year after the decedent's death if notice to creditors has not been published or otherwise given as provided by the Rules of Probate Procedure.