How much does probate cost in Vermont?
7 Aug 2026
Vermont fixes neither professional fee — both are reasonable fees the Probate Division has to approve before a cent is paid — but it is one of the few states whose court fee moves with the estate: eight bands, from $50.00 on an estate of $10,000.00 or less up to $3,250.00 above $10,000,000.
The other Vermont cost that bites early is the bond. Every executor and administrator must give one, and it has to be filed before the court issues letters — so nothing can be done in the estate until it is in place. Fees are itemised line by line, and the court reviews them for reasonableness before they are allowed.
32 V.S.A. §1434(a) and 14 V.S.A. §1065 — Vermont Statutes Online, published by the Vermont General Assembly · Verified 7 Aug 2026
Informational only, not legal advice. Figures verified on the date stamped. Details: /disclaimer/
Work it out on your own number
One row on this page computes from the estate value, and it is the court’s own charge. The compensation rows return no number.
| Estates of $10,000.00 or less | $50.00 |
| More than $10,000.00 to not more than $50,000.00 | $110.00 |
| More than $50,000.00 to not more than $150,000.00 | $265.00 |
| More than $150,000.00 to not more than $500,000.00 | $500.00 |
| More than $500,000.00 to not more than $1,000,000.00 | $1,000.00 |
| More than $1,000,000.00 to not more than $5,000,000.00 | $1,750.00 |
| More than $5,000,000.00 to not more than $10,000,000.00 | $2,500.00 |
| More than $10,000,000.00 | $3,250.00 |
Worked through: $10,000.00 is charged $50.00; $45,000.00 is charged $110.00; $100,000.00 is charged $265.00; $250,000.00 is charged $500.00; $500,000.00 is charged $500.00; $750,000.00 is charged $1,000.00; $2,000,000.00 is charged $1,750.00; and $12,000,000.00 is charged $3,250.00. The bands close at the top of each range, so $50,000.00 is charged $110.00 and $150,000.00 is charged $265.00 — a single dollar more in each case moves you up a band.
The band is picked from the value of the estate, so what goes into that figure decides the charge. Two steps are unusually expensive to cross: $150,000.00 to $150,001.00 moves the fee from $265.00 to $500.00, and $500,000.00 to $500,001.00 moves it from $500.00 to $1,000.00. If you later find an asset nobody knew about, the fee to reopen is worked out on the value of that asset alone, not the estate.
What each part costs
Every row is one figure, one source, one date. Where Vermont fixes no price, the row says so instead of guessing.
| Fee | Amount or formula | Set by | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attorney feeOrdinary services | No statutory rateJoined by law: Vermont treats the attorney’s and the representative’s pay as one pot — one court rule sets the standard for both. The fee statute, 14 V.S.A. §1065, names only the executor or administrator and sets no rate for anyone. The standard for attorney fees sits in Probate Rule 66(c): fiduciary and attorney fees must be shown in detail — date, activity, hourly rate, time spent and total — they may not be paid until approved by the court, and the court reviews all fees for reasonableness, weighing among other things the time and labour required and the experience of the fiduciary and the attorney. What the lawyer charges is a matter of agreement; what the estate pays is a matter for the Probate Division. | Agreement, with prior court approval required | Vermont Judiciary, Probating a Vermont Estate, form 700-00302 (rev. 01/2026), §13, citing V.R.P.P. 66(c) Rule text is behind a commercial portal; the Judiciary quotes the substance and cites the rule by number in its own official booklet | 8 Aug 2026 |
| Executor or administratorFees and expenses | Necessary expenses plus reasonable feesJoined by law: Vermont treats the attorney’s and the representative’s pay as one pot — one court rule sets the standard for both. Two components in one section: an executor or administrator shall be allowed necessary expenses in the care, management and settlement of the estate, and reasonable fees for services. No percentage, no bands, no factor list. Where the will makes some other provision for compensation, that is full satisfaction for the services — the default runs against the executor here, and the only ways out are a written instrument filed in the Probate Division renouncing all claim to the compensation the will provides, or an order of the court. | Statute, on the account, approved by the Probate Division | 14 V.S.A. §1065 Amended 2009 No. 154 §238a eff. 1 Feb 2011; 2017 No. 195 §6 · Vermont is not a Uniform Probate Code state | 7 Aug 2026 |
| Court filing feeEntry fee, Probate Division | $50.00 to $3,250.00, on eight bands of estate valueEight bands: $50.00 at $10,000.00 or less; $110.00 above $10,000.00 to $50,000.00; $265.00 above $50,000.00 to $150,000.00; $500.00 above $150,000.00 to $500,000.00; $1,000.00 above $500,000.00 to $1,000,000.00; $1,750.00 above $1,000,000.00 to $5,000,000.00; $2,500.00 above $5,000,000.00 to $10,000,000.00; and $3,250.00 above $10,000,000.00. Paid to the Probate Division of the Superior Court for the benefit of the State, except the will-safekeeping items, which go to the county. Part of the fee may be waived under Rule 3.1 of the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure where the court finds the applicant unable to pay it. A motion to reopen for a newly discovered asset is charged on the same bands, applied to the value of that asset. | Statute — banded on estate value | 32 V.S.A. §1434(a) Fees sit in title 32, taxation and finance, not the probate title · heavily amended, most recently 2021 No. 65 §8 eff. 7 Jun 2021 | 7 Aug 2026 |
| Newspaper publicationNotice to creditors | Not fixed by statuteNot fixed by statute — the newspaper sets its own rate. The statute sets how often the notice runs and for how long; your state page shows that schedule — and in Vermont that schedule is not in the statute either: the Judiciary publishes it. You must publish the notice to creditors once, within 30 days of your appointment as fiduciary, in a newspaper generally circulating in the community where the decedent lived, and file a copy of the published notice with the court as proof. One insertion is the whole requirement, which makes Vermont one of the cheapest notice states to satisfy. Publishing starts a four-month claim window; where notice is never published or otherwise given, claims arising before death are barred one year after the death. The court may excuse the notice entirely where there are no debts, where the debts are all known and there are funds to pay them, or where the estate does not exceed $2,500.00 and is assigned for the support of the surviving spouse. | The newspaper, on a schedule set by the court system | Vermont Judiciary, Probating a Vermont Estate, form 700-00302 (rev. 01/2026), §6, with 14 V.S.A. §1201 and §1203 The booklet states three years where notice is never published; §1203(a)(2) states one year. The statute governs and one year is printed here | 8 Aug 2026 |
| BondExecutor or administrator bond | Required of everyone, in an amount the court sets
|
Court’s discretion, bond required of everyone | 14 V.S.A. §906, with §1852(c) Amended 1985 No. 144 §38; 2009 No. 154 §238a eff. 1 Feb 2011; 2017 No. 195 §5 | 7 Aug 2026 |
The bond is a gate, not a formality. 14 V.S.A. §906 requires it to be filed before letters of administration issue, and without letters the executor has no authority to touch anything. Sorting the bond is therefore the first cost of a Vermont estate, and the court decides both the amount and whether sureties are needed.
How the Vermont sources are linked. The General Assembly serves a clean page for each section at a stable address. The fee standard and the publication schedule are not in the statutes at all, so both cite the Judiciary’s own official booklet, with its form number and revision date printed so the citation stands alone.
What can change the bill — allowances, waivers and one-off charges
- Annual accounts — $85.00 on a decedent’s estate for any period ending more than one year after the appointment, and $85.00 on trust accounts. An estate that runs long starts costing more at the court counter.
- Extra certificates — $5.00 for each additional certification of appointment of a fiduciary.
- Filing a will for safekeeping — $30.00, and the same again for a subsequent will filed in the same Probate Division or transferred to another. These two items go to the county rather than the State.
- Petitions for a licence to sell or convey — $100.00 for real estate and $100.00 for personal property; a petition for a partial decree is $105.00.
- The Rule 80.3(h) small-estate affidavit procedure — $50.00. It is a different procedure from the §1901 small-estate proceeding, which pays the ordinary banded entry fee on its value.
- Reopening for a newly discovered asset — charged on the eight bands applied to the value of that asset alone, so a small forgotten account reopens the estate at the bottom band rather than the estate’s own.
- You may not have to pay at all. Under Rule 3.1 of the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure part of the filing fee may be waived where the court finds the applicant unable to pay it. The court may also excuse the newspaper notice entirely where there are no debts, where the debts are all known and there are funds to pay them, or where the estate does not exceed $2,500.00 and is assigned for the support of the surviving spouse.
32 V.S.A. §1434(a)(11), (12), (18), (19), (25), (26), (27), (29), (30) and (c); 14 V.S.A. §1201(a) — Vermont Statutes Online · Verified 7 Aug 2026
What changes YOUR number in Vermont
- The court fee is banded, and two steps are expensive
- Crossing $150,000.00 takes the entry fee from $265.00 to $500.00. Crossing $500,000.00 takes it from $500.00 to $1,000.00. Those are the two largest single jumps in the schedule, and they turn on the value of the estate as filed.
- If the will names a fee, it can bind you
- In Vermont, an executor who accepts without renouncing is held to whatever the will provides. Section 1065 makes a will’s compensation provision full satisfaction for the executor’s services. The escape is narrow and it is on you: a written instrument filed in the Probate Division renouncing all claim to the compensation the will provides, or an order of the court.
- Nothing gets paid until the court has seen the line items
- Probate Rule 66(c) requires fiduciary and attorney fees to be shown in detail — date, activity, hourly rate, time spent and total — and they may not be paid until the court approves them. That is a different posture from states where the fee is agreed privately and only reviewed if someone complains.
- The bond has to exist before you do
- The bond is filed before the letters of administration issue, so it precedes every other step. The Probate Division sets the amount and decides whether sureties are required, with no formula in the statute to predict it from. Where the court grants a motion for waiver of administration under §1852(c) the bond is waived or discharged along with the inventory.
- One insertion, within 30 days, and the court can excuse even that
- Vermont’s notice runs once, not three times, and the schedule comes from the Judiciary’s booklet rather than the statute. Publishing starts a four-month claim window; never publishing leaves claims arising before death open for one year from the death. On motion, the court may excuse the notice where the debts are all known or there are none.
- An official court publication and the statute disagree, and the statute wins
- The same Judiciary booklet that gives the publication schedule states that creditors get three years where notice is never published. 14 V.S.A. §1203(a)(2) says one year. We print one year and record the conflict rather than choosing the friendlier figure quietly.
- Small-estate letters expire
- Letters issued in the §1901 proceeding are effective for one year from issuance, extendable by the court on motion for good cause. It is the opposite mechanic to a state where the appointment stands until the estate closes, and it means an unfinished small estate needs a motion rather than a reminder.
- Breaching the cap later forces a conversion
- If, after the estate is opened as a small estate, it turns out the value at the date of death exceeded $45,000.00, the fiduciary must petition the court to order the estate administered under the rules for larger estates, and the court grants it on finding the value exceeded the cap and all applicable fees are paid. The cheaper track is not a decision you get to keep if the numbers move.
Vermont’s small-estate limit is $45,000.00, personal property only
Estates under $45,000.00 at fair market value may qualify for the §1901 small-estate proceeding — and a second route with no dollar limit exists where the moving party is the sole beneficiary or sole heir, is the sole fiduciary, and the decedent owned no Vermont real property.
- The test, 14 V.S.A. §1901(a). Fair market value of not more than $45,000.00, and the estate must consist entirely of personal property — with one allowance: a time-share estate as defined by 32 V.S.A. §3619(a) may be included.
- It is not an affidavit route. You file a petition to open a probate estate, a list of interested persons, the filing fee, an original death certificate, an inventory, an affidavit of paid and outstanding funeral expenses and other known debts, a bond, and the will if there is one.
- The bond is for the full value. A bond without surety in the amount of the fair market value of the estate is one of the eight filing requirements.
- Interested parties who do not consent in writing get notice and 14 days to object. If no objections are filed, the fiduciary appointment and any will offered are approved without further notice or hearing.
- Your letters last one year from issuance, extendable by the court on motion for good cause, and within 60 days of the letters issuing you must confirm, correct or supplement the inventory you filed with the petition.
- Second route, 14 V.S.A. §1852 — waiver of administration, no dollar figure. Available where the moving party is the sole beneficiary under the will or the sole heir on intestacy, is the sole fiduciary, and the decedent owned no real property in Vermont. On granting it the court waives the inventory, waives or discharges the fiduciary bond, and dispenses with further filing other than the final affidavit of administration.
- The court fee for the §1901 route is the ordinary banded entry fee on the estate’s value — $50.00 or $110.00 depending on where it falls. The $50.00 item in §1434(a)(30) belongs to a different procedure, the Rule 80.3(h) affidavit.
Any Vermont real estate takes this route away. The estate has to consist entirely of personal property, a time-share aside — and the no-limit waiver route in §1852 also requires that the decedent owned no real property in Vermont. Land is the dividing line in both directions.
14 V.S.A. §1901 and §1902, with §1852 — Vermont Statutes Online · Verified 7 Aug 2026
Check your own estate against the Vermont routes →
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Vermont probate cost questions
How much does an executor get paid in Vermont?
Necessary expenses in the care, management and settlement of the estate, plus reasonable fees for services. Section 1065 of title 14 publishes no percentage, no bands and no factor list. If the will makes some other provision for compensation, that is full satisfaction for the executor’s services unless the executor files a written renunciation of all claim to it with the Probate Division, or the court orders otherwise. Fees are itemised and approved before they are paid: under Probate Rule 66(c) they must show date, activity, hourly rate, time spent and total, and the court reviews them for reasonableness.
Does Vermont set probate attorney fees by statute?
No. The fee statute names only the executor or administrator, and it sets no rate for anyone. The standard for attorney fees sits in a court rule instead: Probate Rule 66(c) requires fiduciary and attorney fees to be shown in detail and forbids payment until the court approves them, reviewing all fees for reasonableness on factors including the time and labour required and the experience of the fiduciary and the attorney. One rule covers both the attorney and the fiduciary, so the two are judged on the same standard.
What does it cost to file for probate in Vermont?
It depends on what the estate is worth. Vermont runs an eight-band entry fee under title 32 section 1434(a): 50 dollars on estates of 10,000 dollars or less, 110 dollars above 10,000 up to 50,000, 265 dollars above 50,000 up to 150,000, 500 dollars above 150,000 up to 500,000, 1,000 dollars above 500,000 up to 1 million, 1,750 dollars above 1 million up to 5 million, 2,500 dollars above 5 million up to 10 million, and 3,250 dollars above 10 million. The court can waive part of the fee where it finds the applicant unable to pay.
Does an executor have to post a bond in Vermont?
Yes, and it has to be in place before you can act. Section 906 of title 14 says an executor or administrator shall give a bond, the Probate Division sets the amount and may order sureties, and the bond must be filed before the court issues letters of administration. There is no formula, no floor and no ceiling. The bond locks in five duties: returning an inventory within 60 days, administering according to law and the will, rendering an account within a year, paying inheritance and transfer taxes, and performing the orders of the Probate Division. The one route out is a waiver of administration under section 1852(c).
What is the small estate limit in Vermont?
45,000 dollars at fair market value, and the estate must consist entirely of personal property, though a time-share estate is allowed inside the cap. It is not an affidavit: you open a court proceeding with a petition, a list of interested persons, the filing fee, a death certificate, an inventory, an affidavit of funeral expenses and debts, the will if there is one, and a bond without surety for the full fair market value of the estate. Your letters last one year. If it later turns out the estate exceeded 45,000 dollars at the date of death, you must petition to move it onto the full track.
Sources & verification
Every figure on this page was checked against the official source on the date shown. The General Assembly serves a clean page for each section; the fee standard and the notice schedule come from the Vermont Judiciary’s own booklet, cited with its form number and revision date.
- Attorney fee — Vermont Judiciary, Probating a Vermont Estate, form 700-00302 (rev. 01/2026), §13, citing V.R.P.P. 66(c), with 14 V.S.A. §1065 vtcourts.govVerified 8 Aug 2026 · the negative on §1065 stands — the fee statute names the executor or administrator only · booklet is revised periodically and the revision date is printed in its footer · annual re-check
- Executor fees and expenses — 14 V.S.A. §1065 legislature.vermont.govVerified 7 Aug 2026 · amended 2009 No. 154 §238a eff. 1 Feb 2011; 2017 No. 195 §6 · annual statutory re-check
- Court entry fee — 32 V.S.A. §1434 legislature.vermont.govVerified 7 Aug 2026 from the full section · the amendment list runs past twenty entries, most recently 2021 No. 65 §8 eff. 7 Jun 2021 — a live amendment candidate every session · priority re-check
- Publication schedule — Vermont Judiciary, Probating a Vermont Estate, form 700-00302 (rev. 01/2026), §6 vtcourts.govVerified 8 Aug 2026 · one insertion within 30 days of appointment, with proof filed · annual re-check keyed to the booklet’s revision date
- Claim windows and the court’s power to excuse notice — 14 V.S.A. §1201 and §1203 legislature.vermont.govVerified 8 Aug 2026 · conflict recorded: the Judiciary booklet states three years where notice is never published, §1203(a)(2) states one year, and the statute governs · annual statutory re-check
- Bond — 14 V.S.A. §906, with §1852(c) legislature.vermont.govVerified 7 Aug 2026 · bond required of everyone and filed before letters issue · amended 1985 No. 144 §38; 2009 No. 154 §238a; 2017 No. 195 §5 · annual statutory re-check
- Small estate — 14 V.S.A. §1901, with §1902 and §1852 legislature.vermont.govVerified 7 Aug 2026 · amended 1975 No. 240 §10; 2009 No. 75 §1; 2019 No. 36 §1 · annual statutory re-check
- Publisher note — Vermont Statutes Online prints a notice that it is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated provided as a convenience, and the Judiciary booklet carries its own guide-only header legislature.vermont.govRecorded 7 Aug 2026 · section numbers and the booklet form number are printed on this page so both can be checked directly
Researched and verified by John Terra · Methodology
This page is information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws and fee schedules change; every figure here was verified on the date stamped beside it. For advice about your own situation, consult an attorney licensed in Vermont. Full terms: /disclaimer/ · Privacy
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