Updated September 7, 2026. Quick answer: Vermont’s fee scales in every probate district from $50 for estates under $10,000 to $3,250 for the largest estates; a $250,000 estate costs $500.00.
If a trust could save your estate this fee in Vermont
A living trust avoids probate entirely in Vermont, which means the estate skips the $50.00 above along with every other cost the court charges once a case is open. LawDepot builds a state-specific one.
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What Vermont charges to open probate
Vermont sets this fee on a statutory tier tied to the estate’s value, starting at $50.00 for estates of $10,000 or less and rising in steps as the estate gets larger.
| Estates of $10,000 or less | $50.00 |
| Estates over $150,000 to $500,000 | $500.00 |
| Estates over $10,000,000 | $3,250.00 |
Where this money goes and who sets it
The authority for this figure is 32 V.S.A. § 1434(a). In the source’s own words: “Estates of $10,000.00 or less $50.00 (2) Estates of more than $10,000.00 to not more than $50,000.00 $110.00”
What this fee doesn’t cover
Because Vermont prices this by tier, the fee jumps at each threshold in the table above rather than climbing smoothly with the estate’s value. Either way, this is the court’s own charge just to open the file and issue letters, separate from what an attorney charges to actually handle the estate and separate from any state estate or inheritance tax the estate itself might owe.
Sources
Source: 32 V.S.A. § 1434(a).