|
|
Vermont Probate Court
Testate Estates
With a Testate Estate there is a valid will that is allowed by the Court. This makes your job as Fiduciary easier because the wishes of the Decedent are known.
Individual Forms | Form Packet | Court Rules | Vermont Statutes | FAQ
The Probate Court System of the State of Vermont puts out a detailed pamphlet called Instructions for Settling Estates. This Pamphlet is available at any Probate Court during business hours and can be downloaded from the Vermont Judiciary Website at www.vermontjudiciary.org. This pamphlet goes into greater depth than the general information included on these pages and is recommended to you for more information.
Brief Overview of Duties:
The first step is to make sure that the Court considers the Will to be valid. In general, you cannot act for the estate until the Will has been allowed by the Court and the Executor has been appointed by the Court. Vermont law does allow the named executor of a valid will to assume custody and protection of the property of a decedent. The Will must be delivered to the Court within 30 days after the death of the decedent. Once the Will has been delivered to the Court with a petition to open the estate, there will be a hearing as to its validity. A hearing on validity of the will is not necessary if all ‘next of kin’ sign a Consent to the Petition form. There is a section of the petition by which the next of kin can consent.
If the Will is found to be valid, then the Will is allowed and the estate can proceed. However, if the Court does not find the Will to be valid, and there is no prior Will, then it is as if the decedent had never made a will and you need to refer to the Intestate Estate web pages.
Once the Will has been allowed by the Court, the Executor named in the Will shall be given the responsibility of administering the Estate. Before the Executor is appointed, he or she may be required to file a bond by the Court. The bond assures faithful performance of the duties of the Executor.
Executors and Administrators are often referred to as "Fiduciaries", which means that they are acting on the behalf of another person, in this case, on the behalf of the decedent. If you are the Fiduciary in charge of managing and distributing the Estate, you have duties to the heirs, creditors, and the Court. As a Fiduciary, the Court will give you a certificate of appointment which is a legal document giving you the authority to take control of the Estate. This certificate will be required by places such as financial institutions before you will be allowed to access the decedent’s bank accounts. A "Fiduciary" has a special duty of utmost care and fairness to all parties involved in the proceeding.
The first step, after receiving your certificate of appointment, is to determine the assets of the Estate and to secure them. This may involve having items appraised or placed into storage. The goal is to establish the extent of the Estate at the time of the decedent’s death and make sure that none of the Estate is damaged, destroyed, or lost. Once you have established the extent of the Estate, you are required to file an Inventory with the Court. The forms and instruction sheets are available from the above link and from the Court. The Inventory must be filed with the Court within 30 days of your appointment as Fiduciary. If the inventory cannot be completed within 30 days, an extension must be requested from the Court.
Once the assets of the Estate are established, it is time to determine the extent of the debts of the decedent at the time of their death and any debts accrued in the administration of the estate, such as appraisal fees etc. Do not assume that you know what the debts are and start paying bills out of the Estate assets. Under the law you are required to handle the payment of debts in a particular manner and if you do not follow the required steps, you could be held liable. The first step is to determine all known debts. You will need to send a Creditor’s Claim Form to anyone who is known to have a claim against the Estate. Next you need to tackle the unknown debts. To do this, the Court recommends that you publish in the paper a Notice to Creditors. By publishing the Notice to Creditors, you place a four-month time limit on the presentation of claims by unknown creditors against the Estate. Any debts that are claimed after the four months have elapsed will be barred. However, if you fail to publish the Notice to Creditors, the time limit for presentation of claims becomes three years. If all the debts are known, or if you are certain that there are no debts, you may seek a waiver of publication of the notice to creditors from the Court. Once all debts against the Estate have been determined, you need to ascertain if the Estate has sufficient resources to pay all of them. If the Estate does not have the required funds, it is considered Insolvent. Vermont Statutes determine the priority of each type of debt and if there is not enough money to pay all of them, then you must pay the debts that are considered by statute to have the highest priority. In some cases, the Executor is certain that all of the debts are known and the estate has sufficient funds to pay them. In such cases, the publication of a notice to creditors may be unnecessary and can be waived if the Court approves. (Probate Court Form No. 33)
As Fiduciary, you are responsible for filing all State and Federal Tax Returns for the decedent and the estate. If you are confused as to what tax forms are needed or the amounts to be paid, please contact the IRS, the State of Vermont Department of Taxes, an accountant, or attorney who specializes in estates.
Once all debts and taxes are paid, the estate is usually ready for distribution. The first step is to file a Final Account with the Court. The final account sets forth the assets that the estate started with, any income acquired by the estate, the debts and taxes that have been paid, the remaining assets, the planned distribution to the beneficiaries, and any Attorney or Fiduciary fees that need to be paid. No Attorney or Fiduciary fees of the estate should be paid prior to Court approval. The Court will determine if the fees are reasonable and then approve and allow the fees, at which point you can pay them.
The Court will examine the final account and hold a hearing to determine if the estate has been properly handled and is ready for distribution. If the Court finds that everything is in order, it will issue a Decree of Distribution, which gives you the legal authority to distribute the assets to the beneficiaries and close the estate.
You should carry out the distribution of the remainder of the estate promptly and make sure that you obtain a Probate Receipt from each beneficiary. Once all distribution had been completed, you need to file a Closing Report with the probate receipts attached with the Court. If the Court determines that everything is in order, you will receive a signed and approved copy of the Closing Report and a Discharge of Surety if you were required to post a bond. At this point, you are considered to have completed all required duties and are no longer obligated to the estate.
The administration of most estates in Vermont is accomplished by ordinary people. It is likely that anyone who is careful and prudent can administer most simple Vermont estates. Where the estate is complex, contains real estate, is very large or is subject to complex legal claims, it is likely that professional advice or help will be required. You should seek competent legal or tax advice concerning any estate. If you are in doubt, it is better to err on the side of caution.
Open Testate Estate
Open Small Estate
- Form 206, Petition to Open Small Estate
- Form 205, Small Estate Bond
- File an Inventory
- Form 30, Inventory of Executor
- Form 124, Certificate of Service
File an Interim or Final Account
Probate Rules
- Rule 4 Notice
- Rule 5 Service
- Rule 5.1 Service and Notice; Specific Actions
- Rule 12 Notice of Initial Hearing; Defenses and Objections
- Rule 13 Elections in Estates
- Rule 17 Parties Generally
- Rule 60.1 Closing and Reopening a Probate Proceeding
- Rule 64 Creditors Claims Against Decedents’ Estates
- Rule 66 Inventories and Accounts
- Rule 67 Fiduciaries
- Rule 80.2 Ancillary Administration
- Rule 80.3 Small Estates
|
This website is compliant with the W3C's Web
Accessibility Initiative Guidelines and is optimized for screen readers
Send comments and suggestions to