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Vermont Exempt Property
Support GuideVermont10 min read

Vermont Exempt Property

Vermont has no dollar-capped exempt property allowance. A surviving spouse gets specific items: household goods under § 312 and a boat or ATV under § 313.

By Settled Editorial

Vermont does not have the exempt property allowance most states carry, the one that hands a surviving spouse a fixed dollar amount of tangible personal property off the top of the estate. Search for a Vermont figure and you will find nothing, because the legislature never wrote one.

What Vermont gives instead is narrower and more concrete: two awards of specific items to a surviving spouse, both made on motion to the Probate Division, both described by what the item is rather than what it is worth. This guide covers those two, and it separates them from the debtor exemption statute that cross-state summaries keep mistaking for a probate allowance. It is general information, not legal advice. Confirm anything that affects your own claim with the Probate Division handling the estate or a licensed Vermont attorney.

Section 312: All the Household Furnishings and Furniture

14 V.S.A. § 312 is headed "Surviving spouse to receive household goods". On motion, the surviving spouse "may receive out of the decedent's estate all furnishings and furniture in the decedent's household."

Three features make this award unusual and worth asking for.

  • It has no ceiling. The section says all furnishings and furniture. A house full of them and a sparse apartment are treated the same way by the words of the statute.
  • It is additional. Goods and effects assigned under § 312 "shall be in addition to the distributive share of the estate to which the surviving spouse is entitled under other provisions of law." The spouse does not trade inheritance for furniture.
  • It requires a motion. Nothing here happens by default. Somebody has to ask the Probate Division of the Superior Court.

If any interested person objects, the court decides what personalty passes. Section 312 tells the court what to weigh: the length of the decedent's marriage or civil union, the sentimental and monetary value of the property, and the source of the decedent's interest in the property. That last factor matters in second marriages, where furniture a decedent brought from an earlier household is often the thing being argued about.

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Section 313: A Vessel, Snowmobile or All-Terrain Vehicle

14 V.S.A. § 313 works differently from § 312, and the difference is easy to miss. It is automatic rather than discretionary, and it is written for an intestate estate.

Where a decedent dies intestate and the estate "consists principally of a vessel, snowmobile, or all-terrain vehicle", the surviving spouse "shall be deemed to be the owner" and title "shall automatically pass to the surviving spouse". The spouse may then register the craft under 23 V.S.A. § 3816.

Two consequences follow. First, no motion and no court order is needed for the transfer itself. Second, the trigger is the shape of the estate rather than the value of the boat: the estate has to consist principally of that craft. An estate holding a house, three accounts and a snowmobile is not described by § 313.

A separate provision in the vehicle code, 23 V.S.A. § 3816(e), carries the enacting half of the same rule and adds the case where the will is silent about the craft. Neither provision caps the number of items, which is a real difference from the two vehicle limit that applies to cars.

The Statute That Is Not a Probate Allowance

Search "Vermont exempt property" and a list of dollar figures appears: $2,500.00 for a motor vehicle, $5,000.00 for trade tools, $2,500.00 for household furnishings, $700.00 in bank deposits, a wedding ring, ten cords of firewood. That list is real, and it is not probate law.

It comes from 12 V.S.A. § 2740, headed "Goods and chattels; exemptions from", which sits in Title 12 chapter 111, "Levy of Execution". Its opening words say what it does: "The goods or chattels of a debtor may be taken and sold on execution, except the following articles, which shall be exempt from attachment and execution." It protects a living debtor from a judgment creditor. It does not give a surviving spouse anything, it does not operate in the Probate Division, and its dollar figures are not amounts an estate hands over.

The confusion is structural rather than careless. Many states run one exempt property concept that does both jobs. Vermont runs two unrelated ones, and a template written for a different state will attach the wrong figures to the right question. If you see a Vermont exempt property amount quoted in dollars, check whether the source is really quoting the execution exemptions.

The Mechanisms That Sit Next Door

Three neighbouring rights are commonly bundled with exempt property and each is a separate request.

The family allowance. Money for support while the estate is open, discretionary in amount, at 14 V.S.A. §§ 316 to 318. Items and cash are separate asks to the same court, which is why they have separate pages. See cash support during administration.

The homestead. 27 V.S.A. § 105 passes and vests the homestead in a surviving spouse free of the decedent's debts unless legally charged on it during life, and the Probate Division where the estate is pending sets it out to the spouse. The value ceiling comes from 27 V.S.A. § 101, which defines a homestead as not exceeding $125,000.00 in value. This is real property, so it is not an exempt personal property award at all.

The elective share. One half of the balance of the probate estate after allowances, claims and expenses, on a four month clock. That, the homestead and the waiver questions are all covered on Vermont surviving spouse rights.

Where the Awards Sit Against Creditors

14 V.S.A. § 1205 sets the order an insolvent Vermont estate pays claims: costs and expenses of administration first, then reasonable funeral, burial and headstone expenses capped at $3,800.00 together with the medical and hospital expenses of the last illness, then wages earned within three months before death capped at $300.00 per claimant, then everything else. No preference runs between claims in the same class.

Neither § 312 nor § 313 appears on that ladder. The household goods award is an assignment out of the estate rather than a claim against it, and the § 313 transfer happens by operation of law rather than through the claims process. An executor facing an insolvent estate should not assume either award simply outranks the creditors. Ask the court. The way debts are ranked and paid is covered on Vermont debt payment priority, and the timing of the claim window is on Vermont creditor claims.

Practical Notes for the Executor

  • Inventory the household contents before anything moves. The 60 day inventory under 14 V.S.A. § 1051 values property as of the date of death, and a § 312 motion is easier to support when the list already exists.
  • Bring the motion early. Furniture disappears from houses during estates, and a court order is worth more before that than after.
  • Keep the boat or the off-road machine separate in your paperwork. If § 313 applies, that item never became part of the estate to be administered in the ordinary way.
  • Do not offset. Nothing in § 312 lets an executor reduce a spouse's distributive share by the value of the furniture.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Vermont have an exempt property allowance?

Not in the form most states use. Vermont writes no dollar-capped exempt property allowance into its probate code. What it gives a surviving spouse instead is two awards of specific items: all furnishings and furniture in the decedent's household under 14 V.S.A. § 312, and a vessel, snowmobile or all-terrain vehicle under 14 V.S.A. § 313.

What household goods can a Vermont surviving spouse claim?

On motion, the surviving spouse may receive out of the decedent's estate all furnishings and furniture in the decedent's household, under 14 V.S.A. § 312. Goods assigned this way come in addition to the distributive share the spouse takes under other law. If anyone objects, the Probate Division decides what passes.

Is 12 V.S.A. § 2740 a Vermont probate exemption?

No. 12 V.S.A. § 2740 lists goods and chattels of a debtor that are exempt from attachment and execution, which is creditor collection law rather than probate law. Its dollar figures, such as $2,500.00 in a motor vehicle and $2,500.00 in household furnishings, protect a living debtor from a judgment creditor. They are not amounts a surviving spouse claims from an estate.

Does a Vermont exempt property award reduce the spouse's inheritance?

No for household goods. 14 V.S.A. § 312 says goods and effects assigned under it are in addition to the distributive share of the estate the surviving spouse is entitled to under other provisions of law.

What does the Probate Division weigh when someone objects?

Three things named in 14 V.S.A. § 312: the length of the decedent's marriage or civil union, the sentimental and monetary value of the property, and the source of the decedent's interest in the property. The court then decides what personalty, if any, passes under the section.

Does a Vermont surviving spouse automatically get the boat or the ATV?

Where the decedent died intestate and the estate consists principally of a vessel, snowmobile or all-terrain vehicle, yes. 14 V.S.A. § 313 deems the surviving spouse the owner and passes title automatically, and the spouse may then register it under 23 V.S.A. § 3816. The section is written for the intestate estate, so a will changes the analysis.

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It is not legal advice.

Information current as of August 4, 2026

Settled Estate is not a law firm, and this content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Probate laws and procedures in Vermont can change. Consult with a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. Full disclaimer.

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