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Vermont runs one of the strictest signing ceremonies in the country and offers no fallback if you get it wrong. You must sign in the presence of two or more credible witnesses — Vermont does not accept acknowledging a signature you made earlier — and those witnesses must subscribe in the presence of the testator and of each other. No handwritten wills, no electronic wills, no harmless-error rescue. Vermont’s estate tax is unusually simple by comparison: a flat 16% above $5,000,000. Online services prepare a Vermont-specific will for $199–$299.
Most Vermont adults can finish a legally valid will in under an hour.
Two credible witnesses in the room together, a signature, and clear wishes — that’s the whole requirement. An online service like Trust & Will prepares a Vermont-specific will with the witness pages ready to sign.
Disclosure: we earn a commission if you buy through the Trust & Will links here, at no extra cost to you. Complex situations belong with an attorney and we say so below.
Vermont Will Requirements (2026)
14 V.S.A. § 5 packs three separate demands into one sentence, and each of them is stricter than the national norm:
| Requirement | Vermont rule | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| In writing | Required — Vermont has adopted no electronic wills act | 14 V.S.A. § 5 |
| Signed | Signed in the presence of two or more credible witnesses by you, or in your name by another person in your presence and at your express direction | 14 V.S.A. § 5 |
| Witnessed | Attested and subscribed by the witnesses in the presence of the testator and each other | 14 V.S.A. § 5 |
| Notarized | Not required for validity | 14 V.S.A. § 5 |
Notice what Vermont’s text does not offer. Most states let you either sign in front of the witnesses or acknowledge to them a signature you made earlier — that alternative is the standard Uniform Probate Code formulation, and it is what Maine and Montana use. Vermont’s section requires the will to be signed in the presence of the witnesses. Sign it in front of them.
Then the witnesses must subscribe in the presence of the testator and each other. Everyone in one room, at one time. West Virginia, New Mexico and Kentucky impose the same mutual-presence rule; most states do not.
Who can make a will: 18 or older and of sound mind (14 V.S.A. § 1).
No Handwritten Wills, No Electronic Wills, No Second Chance
Handwritten wills. Vermont recognizes none. Section 5 contains no handwriting exception, so a will written entirely in your own hand and signed is invalid without two credible witnesses attesting in your presence and each other’s. Vermont sits with New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts — New England is uniformly hostile to holographic wills, and Maine is the sole regional exception.
Electronic wills. Vermont has not adopted the Uniform Electronic Wills Act.
And no harmless error. Vermont has no dispensing-power provision of the kind Oregon adopted in 2025 or South Dakota has had for years. A court cannot admit a defective document on proof that you meant it as your will.
Put those together and Vermont is one of the least forgiving states in the country on form: a strict ceremony, no alternative format, and nothing to catch a mistake. The upside is that the ceremony is easy to get right if you know what it requires — you, two credible witnesses, one room, one sitting.
Dying Without a Will in Vermont
Vermont’s intestacy rule, 14 V.S.A. § 311, is refreshingly short — two outcomes and no dollar amounts anywhere:
| Your situation | What your spouse receives |
|---|---|
| No descendant survives you, or all your descendants are also your spouse’s | The entire intestate estate |
| You have a descendant who isn’t your spouse’s | One-half of the intestate estate |
No setaside, no preferential amount, no parent tier. Where a blended family exists, Vermont splits the estate straight down the middle — your spouse takes half and your descendants take half, with no dollar figure protecting the spouse first. South Dakota, which is otherwise the closest analogue, at least gives the spouse $100,000 off the top before halving the rest.
Vermont also does not ask whether your spouse has children from an earlier relationship. Only your own outside descendants change the outcome.
On a $600,000 Vermont estate with one child from a previous marriage, your spouse takes $300,000 and that child takes $300,000 — which, if the estate is mostly the house, means your spouse co-owns the home with your child from the day you die. A will fixes that in a sentence.
Vermont’s Estate Tax: a Flat 16% Above $5,000,000
Vermont has an estate tax, and it is one of the simplest in the country. Under 32 V.S.A. § 7442a, Vermont applies a flat 16% rate to the Vermont taxable estate above $5,000,000. Nothing is owed below $5,000,000, and there is no graduated schedule — one rate, one threshold.
That flat structure is unusual. Maine runs 8/10/12% brackets above an indexed $7,160,000; Hawaii runs ten brackets from 10% to 20%; Rhode Island starts taxing under $1.9 million. Vermont’s $5,000,000 threshold puts it in the middle of the pack, and its single rate makes the math unusually easy to reason about.
The tax is computed on the Vermont taxable estate and then apportioned by the ratio of Vermont property to the federal gross estate — so out-of-state property is prorated out. See our state estate tax guide for how Vermont compares, and confirm the current figures with the Vermont Department of Taxes before relying on them.
What a Will Costs in Vermont
| Route | Typical cost | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Handwritten, no witnesses | $0 | Invalid in Vermont — and no harmless-error statute to save it |
| Online service | $199 individual / $299 couple | Vermont-specific will with witness pages — sign in front of both witnesses at once |
| Vermont attorney | Flat fees vary — Chittenden County runs above the Northeast Kingdom | Custom drafting, a supervised signing, and estate-tax planning if you are near $5,000,000 |
Online pricing verified against Trust & Will’s published rates (August 2026). The Vermont Bar Association publishes no fee survey, so we quote no attorney figures we can’t source. See how Vermont compares with the rest of the country.
What a Vermont Will Does Not Do
1. A will does not avoid probate. Vermont probate is a superior court probate division process on the public record. See what a living trust costs in Vermont and our guide to avoiding probate.
2. A will does not reduce the Vermont estate tax. The tax applies with or without one. At a flat 16% above $5,000,000, the planning that addresses it lives in a trust.
3. A will does not cover incapacity, and does not override beneficiary designations. Pair it with a durable power of attorney and an advance directive — see the five documents every family needs.
Will vs. Trust for Vermont Families
Every Vermont adult needs a will, and the case is stronger here than in most states because there is no fallback format. A handwritten page fails, an electronic document fails, and no court can rescue a defective one on proof of intent. Add an intestacy rule that halves the estate for a blended family with no protective setaside, and Vermont rewards doing this properly once.
The trust question here is partly about the estate tax at $5,000,000 and partly about probate, privacy, and keeping land or a camp intact across generations. Start with Trust vs. Will: Which Does Your Family Need? and the numbers in our Vermont living trust cost guide.
If the will is what you need today, Trust & Will’s Vermont package includes the witness pages, guardianship nominations, and healthcare documents — build your Vermont will here.
FAQ
Does a will have to be notarized in Vermont?
No. Validity takes your signature in the presence of two or more credible witnesses, who then attest and subscribe in your presence and each other’s (14 V.S.A. § 5). A notary appears only in the optional self-proving affidavit.
Do my witnesses have to be in the room together in Vermont?
Yes. Section 5 requires the witnesses to attest and subscribe “in the presence of the testator and each other.” Signing at separate times or in separate places breaks the will.
Can I acknowledge a signature I already made in Vermont?
Vermont’s statute requires the will to be signed in the presence of the witnesses, and does not offer the acknowledgment alternative most Uniform Probate Code states provide. Sign it in front of them.
Are handwritten wills legal in Vermont?
No. Vermont recognizes no holographic wills, and 14 V.S.A. § 5 contains no handwriting exception. Vermont also has no harmless-error statute, so a defective document cannot be rescued on proof of intent.
Can I make an electronic will in Vermont?
No. Vermont has not adopted the Uniform Electronic Wills Act.
What happens if I die without a will in Vermont?
Your spouse takes the entire intestate estate if you leave no descendants, or if all your descendants are also theirs. If any of your descendants is not your spouse’s, they take one-half — with no dollar setaside first (14 V.S.A. § 311).
Does Vermont have an estate tax?
Yes — a flat 16% on the Vermont taxable estate above $5,000,000, with nothing owed below that (32 V.S.A. § 7442a).
Vermont Law Cited on This Page
- 14 V.S.A. § 5 — execution of a will
- 14 V.S.A. § 311 — share of the surviving spouse
- 32 V.S.A. § 7442a — estate tax rate and exclusion
- Vermont Department of Taxes — estate tax
Update log — August 2026: page created. Execution and intestacy rules verified against the Vermont Statutes Online published by the Vermont General Assembly; estate tax rate and exclusion verified against 32 V.S.A. § 7442a and the Department of Taxes. Reviewed when Vermont law changes.