Publication
Newspaper pricing is commercial rather than a statewide fee.
Vermont court costs
Vermont probate filing cost: $50–$265
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).
$50–$265 is the range of statutory totals at a $100,000 estate, because the proceedings below are priced differently. Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.
What the statute charges
Every line below is computed from the statutory schedule quoted at the end of this page. These are court charges only. They are not an estimate of the total cost of settling an estate.
Opening a decedent estate
Published value bands
These are the fee bands stated in the source. The worked examples below apply them to sample values; they do not replace the published thresholds.
Probate Division estate entry fee
| Value band | Published fee |
|---|---|
| Up to $10,000 | $50 |
| More than $10,000 to $50,000 | $110 |
| More than $50,000 to $150,000 | $265 |
| More than $150,000 to $500,000 | $500 |
| More than $500,000 to $1,000,000 | $1,000 |
| More than $1,000,000 to $5,000,000 | $1,750 |
| More than $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 | $2,500 |
| More than $10,000,000 | $3,250 |
| Charge | $25,000 estate | $100,000 estate | $400,000 estate | $1,000,000 estate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Probate Division estate entry fee | $110 | $265 | $500 | $1,000 |
| Total from this schedule | $110 | $265 | $500 | $1,000 |
Not included in this total
- Later annual accounts
- Petitions to sell property
- Copies and service
This schedule prices the value-banded entry fee for opening a decedent estate. It does not include the flat $50.00 affidavit-procedure fee under 32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(30), which is priced as the separate schedule below; confirm which route the clerk applies.
Source: 32 V.S.A. § 1434, Vermont General Assembly. Edition/currentness: The Statutes below include the actions of the 2025 session of the General Assembly.. Verified September 15, 2026.
Affidavit procedure for small estates (Probate Rule 80.3(h))
| Charge | $25,000 estate | $100,000 estate | $400,000 estate | $1,000,000 estate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Probate Division entry fee for the small-estate affidavit procedure | $50 | $50 | $50 | $50 |
| Total from this schedule | $50 | $50 | $50 | $50 |
Not included in this total
- The value-banded entry fee for opening a decedent estate
- Copies and service
32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(30) sets this fee at a flat $50.00 for the affidavit procedure for small estates pursuant to Rule 80.3(h) of the Vermont Rules of Probate Procedure. It is a distinct route from the value-banded estate entry fee; the Probate Division clerk states which one applies.
Source: 32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(30), Vermont General Assembly. Edition/currentness: The Statutes below include the actions of the 2025 session of the General Assembly.. Verified September 15, 2026.
Costs no statute prices
These are the costs executors most often meet after the filing fee. None of them has a statewide statutory amount, so this site does not estimate them.
Bond
Premiums depend on the bond amount, the estate, and the applicant.
Copies and local charges
Certified copies, recording, inventory, accounting, and county surcharges are billed separately.
Professional fees
Attorney, accountant, and appraiser fees are negotiated or court-reviewed.
State-specific limits
- Executor compensation is now published from 32 V.S.A. § 1143 ($4.00 per-diem plus court-allowed reasonable sum); the operative reasonable further sum is set case-by-case by the Probate Division and is not a statewide figure.
- Creditor deadlines are published from 14 V.S.A. § 1203 (four months from first publication; one year from death where no notice is given); the precise notice mechanics remain in the Rules of Probate Procedure, and § 1201 lets the court excuse notice in stated circumstances.
Use this as a starting point.
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.
How to verify the amount for this case
Name the proceeding before asking for a total. A small-estate affidavit, an application for letters, formal administration, a later inventory or account, and a certified copy can each carry a different charge. Asking only “what does probate cost?” invites an answer for the wrong filing.
- Identify the county where the proceeding will be filed.
- Identify the exact route or petition you expect to use.
- State the value basis the schedule uses; it is not always the gross estate value.
- Ask the clerk to separate the opening fee, mandatory surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings.
- Record the schedule date or rule cited.
- Record whether payment is due at filing.
Keep that clerk quote with the estate record and compare it with the itemised statutory lines above. For the broader budget, use the probate cost-line guide; court filing is only one category.
Vermont filing-cost map
Separate the Vermont filing charge from the estate budget
The Vermont filing record prices a proceeding, not every cost of settling an estate. This map connects the published amount or schedule to its value basis and identifies the local items that still need a clerk or court schedule.
| 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. |
Filing record
What the Vermont cost record can answer
Opening a decedent estate
Basis: estate-value. Status: operative. This schedule prices the value-banded entry fee for opening a decedent estate. It does not include the flat $50.00 affidavit-procedure fee under 32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(30), which is priced as the separate schedule below; confirm which route the clerk applies.
- Probate Division estate entry fee 8 value bands
Affidavit procedure for small estates (Probate Rule 80.3(h))
Basis: estate-value. Status: operative. 32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(30) sets this fee at a flat $50.00 for the affidavit procedure for small estates pursuant to Rule 80.3(h) of the Vermont Rules of Probate Procedure. It is a distinct route from the value-banded estate entry fee; the Probate Division clerk states which one applies.
- Probate Division entry fee for the small-estate affidavit procedure $50
Case-file context
Keep the Vermont answer with its neighboring conditions
A route answer is easier to use when the facts that can change it stay in the same record. These are the reviewed Vermont descriptions adjacent to this page\'s main question; they are not a substitute for the source quotations or the receiving court\'s instructions.
Route context
Vermont opens small estates in the Probate Division of the Superior Court and prices estate filings through a statewide statutory value schedule.
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.
Compensation context
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.
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.
Deadline context
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.
- Executor compensation is now published from 32 V.S.A. § 1143 ($4.00 per-diem plus court-allowed reasonable sum); the operative reasonable further sum is set case-by-case by the Probate Division and is not a statewide figure.
- Creditor deadlines are published from 14 V.S.A. § 1203 (four months from first publication; one year from death where no notice is given); the precise notice mechanics remain in the Rules of Probate Procedure, and § 1201 lets the court excuse notice in stated circumstances.
Court-material note: 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).
Arithmetic illustration
See the Vermont amount screen without mistaking it for a result
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
Name the proceeding and ask for mandatory surcharges, copies, publication, and later filings separately.
- Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
- Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
- Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
- Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.
Official material
- Vermont Judiciary probate pageVermont Judiciary
- Vermont Judiciary court locationsVermont Judiciary
- Vermont Judiciary Estates and Wills formsVermont Judiciary
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
Records used by this Vermont map
- 14 V.S.A. § 1901Vermont Statutes, Commencement of Small Estate; reviewed August 9, 2026
- 32 V.S.A. § 1434Vermont Statutes, Probate Cases Entry Fees; reviewed August 9, 2026
- 32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(30)Vermont Statutes, Small-Estate Affidavit Entry Fee; reviewed August 9, 2026
- 14 V.S.A. § 1201Vermont Statutes, Notice to Creditors; reviewed August 9, 2026
- 32 V.S.A. § 1143Vermont Statutes, Compensation of Appointees; reviewed August 9, 2026
- 14 V.S.A. § 1203Vermont Statutes, Limitations on Presentation of Claims; reviewed August 9, 2026
Filing-cost sources
Each legal input links to the government source reviewed for this page. Source text can change; confirm the current rule before acting.
32 V.S.A. § 1434
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
32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(30)
Reviewed source note: (30) Affidavit procedure for small estates pursuant to Rule 80.3(h) of the Vermont Rules of Probate Procedure $50.00