Updated October 8, 2026. Quick answer: Yes, for securities and vehicles. Vermont’s Transfer on Death Security Registration chapter, 9 V.S.A. chapter 134, lets an individual register a security in beneficiary form, and the owner may cancel or change it “without the consent of the beneficiary”. Separately, 23 V.S.A. section 2023 recognizes a transfer on death designation on a vehicle title.
How Vermont handles transfer-on-death registration
| Item | What the state documents say |
|---|---|
| Brokerage and securities accounts | Vermont’s Transfer on Death Security Registration chapter is Title 9, chapter 134 of the Vermont Statutes, sections 4351 to 4360. It defines beneficiary form as a registration of a security that shows the present owner and who becomes owner when the owner dies, and the definition of security includes a securities account with a broker. A registering entity is not required to offer registration in beneficiary form, so the brokerage decides whether it accepts the designation. |
| Effect on the will and probate | A transfer on death from a registration in beneficiary form takes effect through the contract between the owner and the registering entity and the chapter, not through a will. On the death of the last owner, the security passes to the beneficiaries who survive all owners. The statute still makes a recipient of a nonprobate transfer liable to the estate for allowed claims and spousal and child allowances if the estate cannot cover them. If no beneficiary survives, the security belongs to the estate. |
| Changing the beneficiary | The designation has no effect on ownership until the owner’s death, and the sole owner or all surviving owners may cancel or change the registration at any time. The beneficiary has no say while the owner is alive. |
| Vehicle titles | Vermont law recognizes a transfer on death designation on a vehicle certificate of title, shown by the abbreviation TOD. The principal owner keeps all ownership rights until death, and the designated transferee becomes owner on the owner’s death, subject to existing security interests. The Department of Motor Vehicles form is VT-007. The source says: “Transfer on death only applies to vehicles registered/titled to one owner”. The form adds or removes the designated transferee and requires the original Vermont title. |
| Vehicle transferee has no rights during life | The vehicle statute says the designated transferee has no rights of ownership until the principal owner has died as established by a valid death certificate. The source says: “The designated transferee shall have no rights of ownership until such time as the principal owner has died as established by a valid death certificate”. The Department of Motor Vehicles form adds that the transferee is not listed on the vehicle registration. |
A $250,000 brokerage account split
An owner holds a brokerage account worth $250,000 and registers it in beneficiary form to two named beneficiaries, with each to receive half. Each share is computed as $250,000 x 50% = $125,000. The 50/50 split is the owner’s illustration, not a rule of the state: the owner names the beneficiaries and, where the form allows it, the shares.
Real estate, probate and estate tax
A transfer on death deed is a different instrument for real property: see Vermont transfer on death deed. For what probate costs in Vermont, see Vermont probate cost, and for Vermont’s own estate or inheritance tax, see Vermont estate and inheritance tax. Which of these your account or vehicle falls under depends on how it is titled.
Related: Vermont probate cost, how Vermont taxes retirement income, Vermont estate and inheritance tax, Vermont transfer on death deed, and car titles after a death, by state.
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Answer againSources
- Vermont Statutes Title 9, Chapter 134, Transfer on Death Security Registration: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/fullchapter/09/134
- Vermont Statutes Title 23, section 2023, Transfer of interest in vehicle: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/23/021/02023
- VT-007 Transfer on Death (12/2023): https://dmv.vermont.gov/sites/dmv/files/documents/VT-007-Transfer_on_Death.pdf
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 8, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the plan administrator or the agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.