Vermont probate leads and inheritance data, by county.
If you are researching Vermont probate leads, the public court file is only one part of the inherited-property market. USLeadList starts with death and property records, typically about five weeks after death, and generates an average of 222 records a month across Vermont.
Vermont counties
Browse 14 counties.Every Vermont county has its own page. Highlighted counties currently generate the largest monthly record volume.
How inherited property moves in Vermont
Verified state rules behind the county data.Probate rules matter because they determine when a public court record appears and which inherited properties never appear in an ordinary probate case.
What changes for an heir
Vermont authorises the enhanced life estate, or Lady Bird, deed by statute: 27 V.S.A. chapter 6, sections 651 to 660, the Enhanced Life Estate Deed Act, added by 2019 Act 145 (Adj. Sess.), effective July 13, 2020. The grantor keeps a life estate and the express right to convey, revise or revoke, and title vests in the surviving grantee at death, so the house never reaches the probate division. Vermont does not reassess on transfer and taxes only estates above $5,000,000. The distinctive cost is the property transfer tax, 32 V.S.A. 9602, which is tiered, not flat: 1.25 percent generally; 0.5 percent on the first $200,000 of a buyer's principal residence and 1.25 percent above; and since August 1, 2024 a 3.4 percent rate on year-round habitable residential property that will not be the buyer's principal residence and needs no landlord certificate (2023 Act 181 (Adj. Sess.), sec. 73).
Where probate records appear
Superior Court, Probate Division Vermont Judiciary Public Portal at portal.vtcourts.gov, the judiciary's online case record search.
Ways property can avoid ordinary probate
Enhanced life estate deed under 27 V.S.A. 651 to 660, the Enhanced Life Estate Deed Act; joint tenancy with right of survivorship; revocable living trusts; and, for personal property up to $45,000, the small estate proceeding at 14 V.S.A. 1901, which is still a court filing but a much shorter one.
Small-estate route
small estate proceeding under 14 V.S.A. 1901, available where the decedent's estate has a fair market value of not more than $45,000 and consists entirely of personal property, except that it may include a time-share estate as defined in 32 V.S.A. 3619(a). Real estate other than a timeshare takes the estate out of the procedure. The petition is filed with the will, an original death certificate, a list of interested persons, an inventory, a funeral expense affidavit and a bond without surety, and the procedure is governed by Vermont Rule of Probate Procedure 80.3. An interested person who does not consent in writing is given notice and 14 days to object; if no objection is filed the appointment and any will are approved without further notice or hearing. The $45,000 figure was set by 2019 Act 36.
Timing investors should understand
Claims that arose before the death are barred unless presented within four months after the date of the first publication of notice to creditors, or within one year after the death if notice to creditors was not published or otherwise given under the Rules of Probate Procedure (14 V.S.A. 1203(a)). The Vermont Judiciary directs the fiduciary to publish the notice once, within 30 days of appointment, in a newspaper generally circulating where the decedent lived, to mail it to known and reasonably ascertainable creditors, and to pay no claims until the four month window has closed. In a small estate an interested person who has not consented has 14 days after notice to object (14 V.S.A. 1901(b)). The court may excuse notice to creditors where there are no debts or all debts are known and funded (14 V.S.A. 1201).
Vermont inheritance volume
Updated monthly · September 2026 edition.Newly inherited residential properties recorded in Vermont, from the same database that builds the lists. Published nationally in the Inheritance Property Index.
Biggest Vermont counties by volume
- Chittenden 483
- Rutland 360
- Windsor 348
- Washington 286
- Windham 244
- Franklin 185
- Caledonia 170
- Bennington 167
Free to cite with attribution: USLeadList Inheritance Property Index, September 2026 edition. See every state and download the data.
See pricing for your Vermont county.
Choose a county, review the available options, and request a quote.