Updated September 3, 2026. Quick answer: Vermont lets a small estate be settled with A ‘petition to open a probate estate’: Vermont’s small estate is not a stand-alone affidavit handed to a bank; it is a simplified probate proceeding opened in Superior Court, Probate Division, by filing a petition. The official court form is titled ‘Petition to Open Small Estate’ (form 700-00001SM, 14 V.S.A. Ch. 81)., with no waiting period stated in the text we read, and it is Filed with the Probate Division of the Vermont Superior Court in the decedent’s county: a true court filing, not a direct-to-institution affidavit delivery.. Real estate: No.
Real estate can pass by deed instead: the Vermont enhanced life estate deed.
The verdicts
| Instrument | A ‘petition to open a probate estate’: Vermont’s small estate is not a stand-alone affidavit handed to a bank; it is a simplified probate proceeding opened in Superior Court, Probate Division, by filing a petition. The official court form is titled ‘Petition to Open Small Estate’ (form 700-00001SM, 14 V.S.A. Ch. 81). |
|---|---|
| Wait after death | not stated |
| Where it goes | Filed with the Probate Division of the Vermont Superior Court in the decedent’s county: a true court filing, not a direct-to-institution affidavit delivery. |
| Notarised? | The court form requires the petitioner’s signature to be notarized if the petitioner is not the named executor or administrator, and the inventory is notarized |
| Reaches real estate? | No |
| Authority | 14 V.S.A. §§ 1901-1903 |
What the statute actually says
“(a) When a decedent’s estate has a fair market value of not more than $45,000.00 and consists entirely of personal property, provided that the estate may include a time-share estate as defined by 32 V.S.A. § 3619(a), an estate may be commenced by filing: (1) a petition to open a probate estate…” (14 V.S.A. § 1901(a)).
(14 V.S.A. §§ 1901-1903)
The dollar limit
Available when ‘a decedent’s estate has a fair market value of not more than $45,000.00 and consists entirely of personal property’: 14 V.S.A. § 1901(a); may include a time-share estate but otherwise excludes real property. No separate/higher limit for a surviving spouse was found.
The form
Yes: official Vermont Judiciary form 700-00001SM, ‘Petition to Open Small Estate.’ It states ‘Petitioner’s signature must be notarized’ (on the signature line for a petitioner who is not the named executor or administrator) and lists as attachments an entry fee, a certified death certificate, a list of interested persons, the original will, a notarized inventory, and a copy of the paid funeral bill (or a bond as required by the Court). The statute, 14 V.S.A. § 1901(a), also requires an affidavit of paid and outstanding funeral expenses and other known debts and a bond without surety in the amount of the fair market value of the estate.
What could not be verified
legislature.vermont.gov first failed to answer securely; a second route reached the official Vermont Statutes Online pages (§§ 1901-1903), current through the 2025-2026 session: fully verified primary source. The official court form PDF was fetched directly from vtcourts.gov and read in full.
When this route is the wrong one
- The estate is over the limit. Full administration applies, and using the small-estate route anyway does not make it valid.
- There is real estate and this route does not reach it. A house needs the instrument that can actually transfer title.
- Someone disputes it. These procedures assume agreement; a contested estate belongs in front of a judge.
- Debts exceed assets. Paying the wrong creditor first can make you personally liable.
Related: how the process works, step by step · affidavit versus summary administration.
General information drawn from state statutes and official court materials, not legal advice. Probate and small-estate procedure is STATE law and differs in every state; thresholds, waiting periods and forms change, and every figure here is sourced and dated. Using the wrong instrument, or using one before its waiting period has run, can make a transfer ineffective and can expose the person who signs the affidavit to personal liability. We are not a law firm and we sell no forms.
Related: whether Vermont requires the executor to post a bond.