Vermont
Death Laws & End-of-Life Guide

At a Glance

Filing and obtaining death certificates in Vermont.

Vermont runs on 24 hours, not days. Within 24 hours after a death, the licensed health care professional who last attended has to submit the medical portion of the report of death (18 V.S.A. § 5202). Nothing can be buried, entombed, removed, or otherwise disposed of without a burial-transit permit, which a municipal or county clerk, a licensed Vermont funeral director, the owner or manager of a licensed disposition facility registered to perform removals, or a law enforcement officer can issue (§ 5201). Whoever issues the permit forwards the death certificate and the permit record to the town clerk on the first working day after that.

Who can order copies.

Certified copies of death certificates can be ordered by family members, legal guardians, certain court-appointed parties, their legal representatives, or a funeral home or crematorium. Valid identification is required. Noncertified copies are marked as such and can't serve as evidence of the facts on the certificate, though they can be recorded in a town's land records to establish a date of death.

• -Vermont Department of Health, Vital Records: https://www.healthvermont.gov/stats/vital-records/order-vital-records
• -Cost: $10.00 per certified copy, set by 18 V.S.A. § 5017. Online ordering adds a processing fee.
• -The fee is waived for people without stable housing and for 18 to 24 year olds who were in foster care between 16 and 18.
• -Fastest and cheapest way is often through your Town or City Clerk.

Who can order a death certificate in Vermont?

Only family members, legal guardians, certain court-appointed parties or their legal representatives can apply for a certified copy, with valid identification; a funeral home or crematorium can apply too. Noncertified copies are free to anyone. Certified copies come from Vermont's Vital Records Office, Vermont Department of Health; most town and city clerks issue certified copies too, from your town or city clerk, online through the state portal with a $2 processing fee, or by mail.

How do I get a death certificate in Vermont?

Order certified copies from Vermont's vital records office; this section's source link is the official process. The funeral home or cremation provider usually orders the first copies for you. Ask each bank, insurer, court, and agency whether it needs its own certified copy before you decide how many to order.

How much does a death certificate cost in Vermont?

$10 per certified copy in Vermont, as shown above. Additional-copy pricing varies; the official source linked in this section has the current fee schedule.

At a Glance

When probate is required.

Probate is generally required in Vermont if the deceased person owned assets in their name alone that don't pass automatically to a beneficiary. If the estate has a fair market value of $45,000 or less and consists entirely of personal property (a time-share estate is allowed), the simplified small estate process is available under 14 V.S.A. § 1901. It still means opening a probate estate, with a petition, an inventory, a bond, and an affidavit of funeral expenses and debts.

If you die without a will.

If a person dies in Vermont without a valid will (intestate), 14 V.S.A. § 311 sets the spouse's share and § 314 covers everyone else. Vermont uses no dollar set-aside at all.

• -If you have a spouse but no descendants or parents, your spouse inherits your entire estate.
• -If you have a spouse and descendants (all of whom are also descendants of your spouse), your spouse inherits your entire estate.
• -If you have a spouse and descendants (at least one of whom isn't a descendant of your spouse and isn't excluded by your will), your spouse inherits one-half of the estate, and your descendants inherit the other half. There's no dollar amount off the top.
• -If you have no spouse or descendants, your parents inherit your estate. If no parents, then siblings and the descendants of dead siblings, then grandparents split paternal and maternal, and so on.

Avoiding probate.

Common strategies to avoid probate in Vermont include establishing a revocable living trust, naming beneficiaries on accounts (e.g., bank accounts, retirement accounts, life insurance), holding property in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, or using transfer-on-death (TOD) or payable-on-death (POD) designations for certain assets.

Handwritten wills.

Vermont doesn't accept an unwitnessed handwritten will signed here. Every will needs two or more credible witnesses (14 V.S.A. § 5). A will signed outside Vermont counts if it met the law of the place it was signed or of the person's home state (§ 112), so a handwritten will made elsewhere can still be valid.

Source: 14 V.S.A. § 5 (Vermont General Assembly) ↗Source: 14 V.S.A. § 112 ↗

How long does probate take in Vermont?

A straightforward Vermont probate typically runs several months to over a year, as shown in this section. Contested wills, missing heirs, or real property in other states stretch it well past that.

What is the small-estate limit in Vermont?

$45,000. Estates under that figure can use the simplified process or affidavit covered above instead of full probate.

Do I need a probate attorney in Vermont?

Not always. If the estate qualifies for the simplified process covered above, many people handle it without a lawyer. Hire one for full probate, a contested will, or property in more than one state. Before you hire anyone, know the fee structures: hourly, flat, and (in a few states) statutory percentages. Our probate attorney cost guide covers what each should run you.

Does Vermont allow transfer-on-death deeds?

No. Vermont has no transfer-on-death deed statute. A living trust or joint ownership with survivorship does the same job here; some Vermont lawyers use enhanced life estate (Lady Bird-style) deeds, but no statute backs them, so treat those with caution.

Source: legislative record ↗

Time off work after a death in Vermont

Vermont is one of nine states that require a private employer to give bereavement leave. The limits matter as much as the entitlement.

Who it covers. Employers with at least 10 employees who work an average of 30 or more hours per week. Employees qualify after working for that covered employer an average of 30 or more hours per week for the last 12 months. Airline employees qualify with at least 60% of monthly guaranteed hours over the past 12 months, at least 504 hours.

How much. Up to 2 weeks (10 workdays) per death, with no more than 5 taken consecutively, and it has to be used within 1 year of the death. It draws from the same 12 weeks of leave per 12-month period that covers the other categories.

Paid or unpaid. Unpaid, with job and benefit protection. Employees can substitute accrued paid leave or temporary disability insurance while out, but doing that does not extend the leave.

Vermont is a genuine mandate and a recent one, added by Act 32 of 2025, so anything written before mid-2025 will say Vermont requires nothing. It is also broader than most: the covered reason is the death of a family member OR settling an estate, and family member means the employee's child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, civil union partner, or domestic partner, including biological, adoptive, foster, step, legal, and in loco parentis relationships with the employee or their partner. On return the employee gets the same or a similar job at equivalent pay, benefits, and seniority, and benefits continue during the leave. An employer may ask for documentation of the need for leave, and the Vermont DOL page names a published obituary as an example. Enforcement is a private lawsuit for injunctive relief, economic damages including up to one year of prospective lost wages, attorney fees and costs, or a complaint to the Attorney General (Human Rights Commission for state employees). One honest limit on this entry: the operative terms above come from the Vermont Department of Labor's own Act 32 page rather than from the codified section text, and the exact subsection number inside 21 V.S.A. wasn't read firsthand. Nothing was assumed beyond what that state page says.

Source: Vermont Parental and Family Leave Act, 21 V.S.A. ch. 5, subch. 4A, as amended by 2025 Vt. Acts and Resolves No. 32 (Act 32 of 2025), described by the Vermont Department of Labor ↗

Can I leave money to care for my pet in Vermont?

Yes. Vermont enforces pet trusts under 14A V.S.A. § 408, so money you set aside for an animal is legally binding on whoever you put in charge of it. The trust ends when your animal dies, or when the last of them dies if you covered more than one. Vermont sets no year limit, so an animal that outlives you by decades stays covered. Whoever you name in the trust enforces it, and if you name nobody the Probate Division of the Superior Court appoints someone. Anyone who cares about your animal can ask that same court to appoint an enforcer or to remove one who isn't doing the job. The court can cut the amount back if the trust holds more than your animal's care requires. Unless your trust says where the extra should go, it comes back to you if you're living, and otherwise goes to whoever inherits from you. Vermont covers an animal that was alive while you were, so a pet your family takes in after you die needs its own arrangement. All of this runs through the Probate Division of the Superior Court, and the statute won't pick your people for you, so name the caretaker, the person who enforces the trust, and a backup for each.

Source: 14A V.S.A. § 408

How to set one up, and what it costs →

Die without a will in Vermont and this law picks your heirs.

If you die intestate (without a valid will) in Vermont, 14 V.S.A. §§ 311 to 314 decides who inherits everything a will would have covered. The shares depend on exactly who survives you: spouse, children, parents, siblings. What you told people you wanted doesn't matter. Only a signed will changes these defaults.

What your spouse gets.

What your spouse inherits depends on who else survives you. The four common family shapes:

• -Spouse only (no descendants or parents): everything.
• -Spouse + parents (no descendants): everything; parents get nothing.
• -Spouse + joint descendants: everything.
• -Spouse + blended family: a flat one-half; the decedent's descendants split the other half.
• -Source: 14 V.S.A. §§ 311 to 314

Children's shares.

The decedent's descendants take everything by right of representation, with shares fixed at the children's generation.

No spouse, no children: the line of succession.

After descendants the estate goes to the parents equally, then to siblings and the descendants of dead siblings, then half each to the paternal and maternal grandparents or the survivors, then in equal shares to the next of kin in equal degree; with no kin it escheats to the state (14 V.S.A. §§ 681-683).

At a Glance

What Vermont requires.

Vermont law allows adults to make advance directives for healthcare, which include a living will and a durable power of attorney for healthcare. An advance directive must be in writing, signed by the declarant, and witnessed by two adults. Neither witness can be the declarant's healthcare provider, an employee of the healthcare provider, or an operator of a healthcare facility serving the declarant. It doesn't require notarization.

Healthcare power of attorney.

In Vermont, a durable power of attorney for healthcare (also known as a healthcare agent or proxy) allows you to appoint someone to make medical decisions for you if you become unable to do so. This can be a standalone document or part of a comprehensive advance directive. The agent's authority typically begins when your physician determines you lack the capacity to make your own decisions.

POLST / MOLST forms.

Vermont recognizes Clinician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (COLST) forms, which are similar to Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) or Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) forms in other states. A COLST form is a medical order signed by a healthcare clinician based on a patient's preferences and medical indications, typically for individuals with serious illnesses. It's more specific and immediately actionable than an advance directive, which is a legal document expressing wishes.

Where do I get Vermont's advance directive form?

Start with 18 V.S.A. Chapter 231, linked as this section's source. Use the current form or sample that the official source provides or identifies. Form authority and execution requirements vary by state, so confirm the source before signing and get legal help if your situation or the instructions are unclear.

Does Vermont require a notary or witnesses for an advance directive?

Vermont requires 2 adult witnesses; notarization isn’t required. Anyone 18 or older of sound mind can make one.

At a Glance

Cremation rules in Vermont.

A Vermont disposition facility can't cremate a body, or process it by natural organic reduction, until at least 24 hours after the death shown on the death certificate. The only exception runs the other way: if the person died of a virulent communicable disease, a Health Department rule or order can require it sooner. Before releasing the body, the person in charge has to have a certificate from the chief, regional, or assistant medical examiner stating they made personal inquiry into the cause and manner of death and are satisfied no further examination or judicial inquiry is needed. The fee for that is $25.00, paid to the Department by whoever requests the cremation. (18 V.S.A. § 5201(b)-(c))

Green burial and alternatives.

Vermont law allows for green burial, which involves natural decomposition without embalming, concrete vaults, or non-biodegradable caskets. Home burial on private property is also permitted, provided certain conditions are met, such as proper setback from water sources and property lines. Natural organic reduction (human composting) is also legal in Vermont.

• -Green burial: Permitted in certified natural burial grounds or cemeteries that allow it.
• -Home burial: Allowed on private property with proper permits and adherence to health regulations.
• -Natural organic reduction (human composting): Legal and available as an alternative disposition method.

Funeral home regulations.

Funeral homes in Vermont are regulated by the Vermont Secretary of State's Office, Office of Professional Regulation. They must be licensed and adhere to state laws regarding consumer protection, including price disclosure. The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Funeral Rule also applies, requiring funeral homes to provide itemized price lists to consumers.

Who decides what happens to the body in Vermont

Vermont sets this order by statute. The first person on the list who is available and willing decides, and a funeral home takes its instructions from them.

1. the decedent's own written directive (the whole list applies only 'if there is no written directive of the decedent')
2. individual appointed to arrange disposition in an advance directive under 18 V.S.A. ch. 231
3. surviving spouse
4. sole surviving child, or a majority of surviving children (a minor child's interest may be exercised only by a probate-appointed legal guardian)
5. for a minor or disabled adult decedent, the custodial parent or the parent providing primary physical care; otherwise a sole surviving parent, or both parents, or either parent under (b)(2)
6. sole surviving sibling, or a majority of surviving siblings
7. any other family member in descending order of kinship, majority of that degree where more than one
8. guardian of the decedent at the time of death
9. any other willing individual, including the estate's representative, after written attestation of a good-faith but unsuccessful effort to contact those above (or a waiver by them)
10. funeral director or disposition facility operator with custody, after written attestation
11. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner when it has jurisdiction and custody, after written attestation

Naming someone in advance. The Vermont advance directive itself does it, not a separate form. 18 V.S.A. § 9702(a)(18) lets an adult 'appoint an individual to make or refuse to make an anatomical gift, and to arrange for the disposition of the principal's remains, including funeral goods and services,' and § 9702(a)(16) lets the principal 'direct the manner of disposition of the principal's remains and the funeral goods and services to be provided.' § 9702(d) bars a funeral director, crematory operator, or cemetery official (or their employees) from exercising that authority unless related to the principal by blood, marriage, civil union, or adoption.

When the same tier disagrees. 18 V.S.A. § 5231: any near relative of the decedent, or the custodian of the remains, may file an action in the Probate Division of the Superior Court asking the court to appoint someone to decide, or to resolve the dispute. The court weighs the decedent's expressed directions or wishes, religious affiliation or beliefs, cost and practicality and ability to pay, the relationship between the decedent and each claimant including whether they were estranged, the wishes of anyone willing to pay, whether the arrangements are inclusive of the family's desires, and any other information it deems relevant. § 5231(c) is explicit that paying or agreeing to pay does not buy greater priority than § 5227 gives. § 5227(b) separately lets a minority of children, siblings, or same-degree relatives act, and lets one parent act, where the others cannot be reached after prompt reasonable efforts and no opposition is known.

Under § 5228 a person forfeits the right if a law enforcement agency identifies them as a person of interest likely to be prosecuted, or they are under prosecution, for first or second degree murder or voluntary manslaughter connected to the death and the funeral director knows the status; if they do not exercise the right within three days after notification or five days after the death, whichever is earlier; if the Probate Division finds they were estranged from the decedent; or as otherwise ordered by the court.

Source: 18 V.S.A. § 5227 (Right to disposition), with §§ 5226 (Definitions), 5228 (Forfeiture), 5229 (Cost of disposition), 5231 (Civil action) and 18 V.S.A. § 9702 (Advance directive) ↗

If you can't afford the funeral in Vermont

Three separate pots of money, on three different agencies' websites, collected nowhere. A family that qualifies for all three usually claims none of them.

1. When nobody can pay. General Assistance burial, run statewide by the Department for Children and Families, Economic Services Division. It pays for cremation or burial and it's one of the few real statewide programs in the country. Vermont DCF, Economic Services Division, 280 State Drive, Waterbury, VT 05671-1020. Apply at your local DCF district office.

What it pays. Set in DCF procedures at P-2690, not in the rule, so the rule itself carries no number. The most recent figure we could find in a DCF document is $1,100. DCF Bulletin 10-06E, effective July 1, 2010, set "a maximum payment by the department of $1,100 designed to cover the full cost of a basic burial or cremation." We couldn't open P-2690 itself, so treat $1,100 as the last confirmed figure and ask DCF what the maximum is today before you count on it. Rule 2674 lets DCF raise the amount by a procedures change without amending the rule, so it may well be higher now.

What disqualifies you. Broader than most people assume, and this is the part that gets written too strictly. A DCF interpretive memo effective October 29, 2012 states it plainly: "All persons who die in Vermont (except those who die in state institutions) who do not have sufficient known assets to pay for their burials, or Vermont residents who die elsewhere, and who do not have sufficient known assets to pay for their burials, qualify for their burial to be arranged and paid by the Department." That memo says it flows from the 2012 changes to 33 V.S.A. § 2301, and that towns of domicile are no longer responsible. So you don't have to be a veteran and you don't have to have been on public assistance, even though the older rule text at 2670 lists those groups. The money test is at rules 2673 and 2675: DCF pays if the available resources of the person who died and the surviving spouse are less than DCF's maximum payment. "Available resources" means total resources minus a $255 disregard, and it counts things like bank accounts, stocks, bonds, lump sum death benefits, life insurance proceeds, and employer death benefits. It does not count contributions from family other than the spouse, or from friends. If the person owned real or personal property worth more than the total cost of burial and left no surviving spouse or dependent children living with them, the request is denied. Under rule 2671, unless the person or the family expressly asked for something else, DCF cremates. Under rule 2677, payment goes out only after DCF gets an itemized accounting signed by both the funeral director and whoever made the arrangements.

The official page ↗

2. If the death was caused by a crime. Not verified. Vermont's Center for Crime Victim Services runs the Victims Compensation Program, and it does pay funeral expenses, but we couldn't find any official page or statute section that publishes the funeral cap, so we're not putting a number here. 13 V.S.A. § 5353 sets out who can apply and confirms at subsection (f) that "The Board may award funeral expenses to the next of kin of a deceased victim who is not survived by a dependent." It contains no dollar figure. The award amounts live in a later section of the same chapter and in CCVS policy, and we couldn't check either one. Call CCVS at 1-800-750-1213 (Vermont only) or 802-241-1250 and ask what the funeral and burial maximum is. To be eligible under 13 V.S.A. § 5353(a), a law enforcement official has to have filed a report concluding a crime was committed that resulted in the injury or death, and the crime has to have happened in Vermont, or the person has to have been a Vermont resident and the state where it happened has no eligible program.

Vermont crime victim compensation ↗

3. Money the person was already owed. Search Vermont's unclaimed property before you borrow anything. Searching and claiming are free.

Vermont unclaimed property ↗

Vermont is one of the few states that actually runs a statewide burial program, and the eligibility rule is wider than most write-ups say. It isn't limited to veterans or people on benefits. What to do, in order. 1. Go to your local DCF district office and apply for Emergency/General Assistance. Burial costs are one of the listed things the program covers. Do this before you sign a funeral contract, because DCF is deciding both eligibility and the level of payment. 2. Tell them the person died in Vermont, or was a Vermont resident who died elsewhere, and left no assets to pay for burial. Under the 2012 DCF memo that's the test. Dying in a state institution is the one carve-out, because the institution pays in that case. 3. Ask DCF what the current maximum payment for burial expenses is. The rule points at Procedures P-2690 rather than naming a figure. The last number DCF published that we could find was $1,100, set in 2010 to cover a basic burial or cremation, and the rule allows DCF to raise it without a rule change. 4. Let friends and relatives other than the spouse contribute if they want to. Rule 2675 says those contributions don't count as available resources and won't cut your payment. A surviving spouse's money does count, except for the $255 disregard. 5. Expect cremation unless you ask otherwise. Rule 2671 says the body is cremated unless the person or their family expressly requested an alternative, so say it in writing if burial matters to you. 6. Get the funeral director on board early. DCF pays the funeral home directly, and only after it receives an itemized accounting signed by the funeral director and by the person who made the arrangements. 7. If the death was a crime, call the Center for Crime Victim Services at 1-800-750-1213 in Vermont or 802-241-1250. They pay funeral expenses. Ask them for the current maximum, because we couldn't find it published anywhere. 8. Search the State Treasurer's unclaimed property site for money owed to the person who died.

At a Glance

Vermont has an estate tax for estates over $5 million.

Vermont taxes the part of an estate above $5 million, counting taxable gifts made within two years of death. That exclusion has been $5 million since 2021. The rate is a flat 16% on the excess, and nothing at all below it (32 V.S.A. § 7442a). The federal exemption is separate and much higher.

Vermont doesn't have an inheritance tax.

Vermont doesn't impose an inheritance tax. An inheritance tax is levied on the beneficiaries who receive assets from an estate, rather than on the estate itself. However, beneficiaries may still be subject to federal income tax on certain inherited assets, such as retirement accounts.

Federal estate tax.

The federal estate tax applies to estates over $15 million per person (2026), $30 million for married couples. This is separate from any state estate or inheritance tax. The Working Families Tax Cuts Bill (Public Law 119-21, 2025) made the higher exemption permanent, so the drop to roughly $7 million once scheduled under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act never took effect.

Does Vermont have an estate tax?

Yes. Vermont levies its own estate tax, with a state exemption of $5 million and rates of 16%. The federal estate tax can also apply, but only to estates over $15 million per person (2026).

Does Vermont have an inheritance tax?

No. Vermont doesn’t tax inheritances. Heirs owe no state tax on what they receive, though the estate itself can owe state estate tax before anything is distributed.

What is the federal estate tax exemption for 2026?

$15 million per person, $30 million for a married couple, indexed for inflation. The Working Families Tax Cuts Bill (Public Law 119-21, 2025) made the higher exemption permanent. Estates below the threshold owe no federal estate tax.

At a Glance

Registering as a donor in Vermont.

In Vermont, you can register to be an organ, eye, and tissue donor through several methods. The most common ways are when applying for or renewing your driver's license or state ID at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), or by registering online with Donate Life New England.

• -Donate Life New England online registry: https://neds.org/
• -Register at the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) when obtaining or renewing your license.
• -You can also indicate your wishes in an advance directive.

Your family can't override an adult donor's decision.

In Vermont, a registered organ donor decision is legally binding. Nobody else can amend or revoke your gift after your death (18 V.S.A. § 5250h). One exception: if the donor is an unemancipated minor, a parent who is reasonably available can revoke or amend the gift (18 V.S.A. § 5250h(g)). In practice, organ procurement organizations still consult families, so make your wishes known to your family to avoid conflict.