Simplified route
$45,000
Commencement of small estate; waiting period not verified.
Eligibility and caveatsVermont estate administration
Vermont probate: rules, process, costs, executor fees and deadlines
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 October 3, 2026.
Answer first
Vermont simplified probate route
Up to $45,000; waiting period not verified. Source: 14 V.S.A. § 1901.
Commencement of small estateScreen a specific Vermont estate with the calculators on the small-estate page and the executor-fee page, or compare states in the full estate navigator.
What the reviewed rules establish
Court cost
Tiered
2 published schedules, itemised on the filing-cost page.
Filing-cost detailExecutor compensation
Court-reviewed
No percentage schedule; the court decides what is reasonable. Source: 32 V.S.A. § 1143.
Compensation detailCreditor deadline
Multiple triggers
14 V.S.A. § 1203 (Vermont General Assembly; reviewed August 9, 2026)
Timeline and creditor detailsVermont decision map
The four facts that change the Vermont route
Each Vermont answer below links to the page that sets out its source.
| Question | Recorded Vermont answer |
|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Commencement of small estate |
| What property and basis count? | personal probate property only; gross value for this route. |
| What is the amount screen? | $45,000 |
| What is the time or deadline record? | No waiting-period number verified; creditor deadlines: separate clocks by triggering event |
| What does the cost record establish? | 2 published schedules; the proceeding and value basis control the total. |
| What does compensation use? | Reasonable compensation set by the court, measured on the estate accounting. |
Limits and unresolved costs
- 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.
Continue
What Vermont courts publish
Every link is probed before each release.
- Court resourceVermont Judiciary probate pageVermont Judiciary
- Court resourceVermont Judiciary court locationsVermont Judiciary
- Forms indexVermont Judiciary Estates and Wills formsVermont Judiciary
The Vermont Judiciary probate page states that forms for small estates and formal estates are found on this Estates and Wills page.
Limits on court 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).
Vermont primary sources
- 14 V.S.A. § 1901 — Vermont Statutes, Commencement of Small Estate
- 32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(1)-(8), as published in the Vermont Judiciary fee schedule — Vermont Judiciary fee schedule: Probate Division estate filing fees (32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(1)-(8))
- 32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(30), as published in the Vermont Judiciary fee schedule — Vermont Judiciary fee schedule: small-estate affidavit procedure (32 V.S.A. § 1434(a)(30))
- 14 V.S.A. § 1201 — Vermont Statutes, Notice to Creditors
- 32 V.S.A. § 1143 — Vermont Statutes, Compensation of Appointees
- 14 V.S.A. § 1203 — Vermont Statutes, Limitations on Presentation of Claims
Every quotation, edition label and machine check is on the Vermont source record.
Vermont record: 6/6 verified, 18 matched checks, latest source re-fetch October 3, 2026. Source record · method · report a correction