Vermont Probate Deadlines

Vermont probate deadlines count from five different events, and the one that catches executors is the creditor bar. A claim that arose before death is barred four months after the date of first publication of the notice to creditors (14 V.S.A. § 1203(a)(1)). The inventory is due 60 days after appointment, and the first account one year after letters issue.

This guide lists every dated duty in a Vermont estate, groups each one under the event that starts its clock, and says what the court does when a date passes. For how the filing process fits together, start with the Vermont probate guide. For how long the whole thing usually runs, see the Vermont probate timeline.

Five Clocks Run in Every Vermont Estate

Most wrong Vermont deadlines come from reading a period off the wrong event. Vermont counts from five separate days, and only one of them is the date of death.

Neighboring states usually hang the creditor window on the date of death or on the appointment. Vermont hangs it on publication. New Hampshire, for one, counts its creditor periods from the original grant of administration, so a New Hampshire schedule copied across the river produces the wrong dates in every Vermont estate.

One naming quirk to expect on your paperwork. Vermont issues letters of administration to a named executor as well as to an administrator (14 V.S.A. § 902), so the phrase in your file does not tell you whether there was a will.

Vermont Probate Deadlines at a Glance

Deadlines That Start at the Date of Death

30 Days: Deliver the Will

A person who has custody of a will must deliver it within 30 days after learning of the testator's death, either to the Probate Division of the Superior Court where venue lies or to the executor named in the will (14 V.S.A. § 103). Vermont attaches no dollar penalty to that date. What it attaches is a court order and a lawsuit: on request of an interested person the custodian must hand the will over with reasonable promptness, a person who intentionally refuses after being ordered to do so may face civil contempt proceedings under 12 V.S.A. § 122, and anyone damaged by an intentional failure to deliver may sue in Superior Court for damages and injunctive relief (14 V.S.A. § 106).

No Day Count for the Petition Itself

The named executor files a death certificate and a petition to open the decedent's estate "with reasonable promptness" (14 V.S.A. § 104(a)). That is the whole standard. Vermont publishes no number of days here, so treat any source that gives you one as unsourced. Where no assets require probate administration, the named executor may file the original death certificate and the will and simply tell the court that, without a petition at all (§ 104(b)).

1 Year: The Outer Bar on Pre-Death Claims

14 V.S.A. § 931 bars claims against the estate that arose before the decedent's death unless a claimant presents them within one year after the death. It carries no publication condition, and it sits alongside the shorter four-month bar below rather than replacing it. A published notice closes the window well inside that year, while the one-year date closes it in an estate where notice never ran. Claims filed by the State on behalf of Vermont Medicaid are carved out of § 931 and run on § 1203(d) instead.

9 Months: The Two Estate Tax Returns

A Vermont estate tax return is due within nine months of the death of the decedent, and executors may apply for a six-month extension before the filing period expires (32 V.S.A. § 7446). The tax itself is due when the return is required to be filed, without that extension (§ 7447), so an extension buys filing time and no payment time. The Department of Taxes takes the return on Form EST-191 and the extension request on Form EST-195.

Read the filing threshold at the Department, not at the statute. 32 V.S.A. § 7444(a)(2) still prints a flat $2,750,000.00 figure, while the Department's current EST-191 instructions band the same test by date of death and set $5,000,000.00 for deaths on or after January 1, 2021. Confirm which figure applies to your date of death with the Estate Tax Division before you decide no return is due.

The federal return runs on the same nine months. An estate that has to file Form 706 files it nine months after the date of death and may request an automatic six-month extension on Form 4768, per the IRS Instructions for Form 706. Our federal estate tax guide for Vermont estates covers the threshold and the portability election.

Deadlines That Start When Letters Issue

The bond comes first. A fiduciary gives a bond securing performance of the duties, the court sets the amount and may require sureties, and the bond is filed before the court issues letters of administration (14 V.S.A. § 906). Two of that bond's own conditions restate the dates below: return an inventory within 60 days, and render an account within one year.

60 Days: The Inventory

Within 60 days after appointment the executor or administrator prepares an inventory of the property the decedent owned at death, listed in reasonable detail, showing each item's fair market value as of the date of death and the type and amount of any lien or encumbrance on it (14 V.S.A. § 1051). The original goes to the Probate Division and copies are served under the Rules of Probate Procedure. The court may extend the filing date for good cause. A special administrator, and a successor to a representative who already did it, are excused.

The inventory is not a one-time filing. If the fiduciary learns of property left out, or that a value or description was wrong or misleading, a supplemental inventory follows with the corrected values and the data relied on (§ 1053(a)). Once an original or supplemental inventory is filed, a creditor with a claim over $1,000.00, or an heir, devisee or legatee entitled to more than $500.00 on distribution, has 30 days to move for a hearing and a reappraisal (§ 1053(b)).

1 Year: The First Account

The fiduciary renders an account of the administration within one year from the time of receiving letters testamentary or of administration, and annually after that, or otherwise as the Probate Division orders, until the estate is wholly settled (14 V.S.A. § 1055). The fiduciary may be examined on oath on any matter in the account, and notice goes out under the Rules of Probate Procedure before the court allows it (§ 1067). The Vermont probate accounting guide covers what belongs in each one.

Vermont also lets a straightforward estate skip the final account. Once the estate has been open at least six months and the remaining assets include no real estate, a final accounting may be waived if the fiduciary files a verified representation that all claims and obligations are satisfied, a schedule of remaining assets, a schedule of proposed distribution, a waiver and consent signed by all interested parties, and a tax clearance from the Vermont Department of Taxes (§ 1069). Miss any one of those five and the account is still due.

The Creditor Window Runs From First Publication

This is the date most likely to be reported wrong, so read it carefully. 14 V.S.A. § 1203(a) bars claims that arose before the decedent's death unless presented:

1. Within four months after the date of the first publication of notice to creditors, where notice is given in compliance with the Rules of Probate Procedure (§ 1203(a)(1)). A claim already barred by the nonclaim statute of the decedent's domicile before that first publication stays barred in Vermont.
2. Within one year after the decedent's death, where notice to creditors has not been published or otherwise given as the Rules provide (§ 1203(a)(2)). That one-year figure is the fallback for an estate with no notice, not the routine period.

Claims that arise at or after the death run on their own four months: four months after performance by the fiduciary is due, on a contract with the fiduciary, and four months after it arises for any other claim (§ 1203(b)). Nothing in the section touches proceedings to enforce a mortgage, pledge or other lien, liability covered by insurance up to the policy limits, or the enforcement of a tax liability (§ 1203(c)). Vermont Medicaid is expressly excepted from subsection (a) and gets its own rule at § 1203(d): four months after first publication, regardless of the date of death or of when the estate was opened.

Two follow-on effects of that same four-month period are easy to miss. The running of any other statute of limitations measured from an event other than death is suspended during the four months after first publication and resumes afterward (§ 1202). And the fiduciary may not start paying allowed claims until those four months expire (§ 1207(a)), after providing for homestead, family and support allowances, for claims presented but not yet allowed, and for unbarred claims that may still come in.

Paying early is where personal liability lives. A fiduciary who pays a just claim before the four months run, without requiring the payee to give adequate security for a refund, is personally liable to any other claimant whose claim is allowed and who is injured by that payment (§ 1207(b)).

The disallowance side carries a 60-day clock of its own. A claimant whose claim is disallowed in whole or in part is barred unless the claimant files a petition for allowance with the court, or commences a proceeding against the fiduciary, no later than 60 days after the mailing of the notice of disallowance, where the notice warns of the impending bar (§§ 1204(3), 1206(a)). The rule cuts both ways: if the fiduciary fails to mail a claimant notice of action on the claim for 60 days after the presentation period expires, the claim is treated as allowed. The Vermont creditor claims guide walks through presentation, allowance and rejection.

One case removes the four-month clock entirely. The court may excuse the fiduciary from the notice-to-creditors requirement where there are no debts, where all debts are known and there are funds to pay them, or where the estate does not exceed $2,500.00 and is assigned for the support of the surviving spouse (§ 1201(a)). Where notice is excused, distributed assets remain subject to claims later established, and §§ 1202 and 1203 still apply (§ 1201(b)). No publication means no four-month bar, so the one-year rules govern instead.

We do not publish a day count for the publication step itself. The specific paragraph of the Rules of Probate Procedure that § 1203(a)(1) hangs the clock on could not be read at any free official Vermont source, because the Judiciary publishes consolidated rule text through a subscription gateway. Ask the Probate Division register how many days notice runs in your case before you count backward from anything.

Deadlines for the Surviving Spouse

The elective share has the most moving parts of any Vermont date, and it is the only one triggered by service rather than by filing.

• The court starts it. The court provides the surviving spouse with a notice of the rights of the surviving spouse not later than 30 days from the filing of the initial inventory (14 V.S.A. § 319(e)(1)).
• Four months to elect. Unless the court orders otherwise, the surviving spouse files a written election to waive the provisions of the will within four months of the later of the date of service of that notice of rights, or the date of service of the inventory (§ 319(e)(2)).
• Thirty days for late-reported property. On the filing of any subsequent or amended inventory, or any accounting that reports property owned at death and not previously disclosed, the spouse has 30 days from service of that filing to elect against the newly reported property (§ 319(f)).

The share itself is one-half of the balance of the probate estate after payment of allowances, claims and expenses (§ 319(a)), the spouse must be living when the election is made (§ 319(b)), and a spouse who signed a written waiver under § 323 cannot elect at all (§ 319(d)). The Vermont surviving spouse rights guide covers the choice itself.

Support runs on a different schedule. The Probate Division may allow reasonable expenses of support and maintenance for the surviving spouse and minor children out of the personal estate or the income of the estate, from the date of death until settlement, but no longer than until their shares are assigned, and in an insolvent estate for no more than eight months after administration is granted (§ 316).

The Simplified Routes Carry Their Own Dates

Vermont's two lighter court routes turn on the shape of the estate, and each one adds dates the ordinary schedule does not have. The Vermont small estate guide compares them in full.

• Small estate, 14 V.S.A. chapter 81. The route opens a real probate estate for an estate worth $45,000.00 or less that consists entirely of personal property, on a petition, a list of interested persons, the filing fee, an original death certificate, an inventory, an affidavit of funeral expenses and debts, a bond without surety, and the will (§ 1901(a)). An interested party who does not consent in writing gets notice and has 14 days after receiving it to object (§ 1901(b)). Within 60 days after letters issue the fiduciary confirms, corrects or supplements the inventory filed with the petition (§ 1902(b)). The date that surprises people: small-estate letters of administration are effective for one year from issuance, and lapse unless the court extends them on motion for good cause (§ 1902(c)). If the estate turns out to be worth more than $45,000.00, the fiduciary petitions to move it to full administration (§ 1901(c)).
• Waiver of administration, 14 V.S.A. chapter 80. A sole beneficiary or sole heir who is the sole fiduciary, where the decedent owned no real property in Vermont, may move to waive further administration, and the order waives the inventory, waives or discharges the bond, and dispenses with further filings other than the final affidavit (§ 1852). That affidavit of administration is due not less than six months and no more than one year after the date of appointment, unless the court extends it (§ 1853(a)).

What the Court Does When a Date Passes

A missed Vermont date starts a process rather than an automatic penalty.

• A neglected account. A fiduciary who is duly cited by the Probate Division and still neglects to render a required account is liable on the bond for the damages that accrue (14 V.S.A. § 1056).
• A late waiver affidavit. A fiduciary who does not file the affidavit of administration in the six-to-twelve-month window is in default. The court sends notice of the default by first-class mail or another means the Rules allow, and if the fiduciary does not file the affidavit or request more time within 15 days after receiving that notice, the court may impose sanctions it deems appropriate, including an order that waiver of administration is no longer available (§ 1853(b)(2)).
• A late creditor. The bar in § 1203 is a bar. Vermont provides no good-cause extension inside that section, which is why the presentation date matters more than any other date on this page for someone owed money.
• A withheld will. Civil contempt proceedings under 12 V.S.A. § 122 and a damages action in Superior Court (14 V.S.A. § 106).
• An early payment. Personal liability to an injured claimant under § 1207(b).

Vermont Sets No Statutory Appeal Deadline

An appeal from the Probate Division goes to the Civil Division of the Superior Court, not to the Supreme Court. 12 V.S.A. § 2553 gives the Civil Division appellate jurisdiction over matters originally within the Probate Division's jurisdiction, and 12 V.S.A. § 2555 lets a person interested in an order, sentence, decree or denial who considers themselves injured appeal from it. Neither section states a number of days, and the surviving sections of 12 V.S.A. chapter 107 do not supply one.

So the appeal period lives in the court rules rather than in the statutes, and Vermont publishes consolidated rule text only through a subscription gateway. We could not verify the current period at a free official Vermont source, so this guide leaves it blank on purpose. Confirm it with the Probate Division register or a licensed Vermont attorney before you let any decree sit.

How to Keep a Vermont Estate on Schedule

1. Write down two dates, not one. The date letters issued starts the inventory and the account. The date the notice to creditors first published starts the claim bar and the earliest payment date. Neither one is the date of death.
2. Order certified death certificates first. 14 V.S.A. § 1901(a)(4) requires an original with a small estate petition, and § 104 requires one with the ordinary petition, so the certificate gates the appointment that gates everything else.
3. Ask the register when your notice first ran, and keep the proof. That single date decides the § 1203(a)(1) bar, the § 1202 suspension and the § 1207(a) payment date.
4. Calendar 60 days, four months, six months and one year from the two anchor dates the day you receive letters.
5. Do not distribute before month four. Paying early without security exposes the fiduciary personally under § 1207(b).
6. Watch the small-estate one-year lapse. § 1902(c) letters expire on their own, and a motion for good cause is the only fix.
7. Ask before a date passes, not after. Find your court through the Vermont probate courts directory, and take the statewide forms from the Vermont probate forms page. The Vermont executor duties guide maps each date to the task behind it.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does the Vermont creditor deadline start?

At the first publication of the notice to creditors. 14 V.S.A. § 1203(a)(1) bars a claim that arose before death unless the claimant presents it within four months after the date of first publication, where notice goes out under the Rules of Probate Procedure. Where notice was never published or otherwise given, § 1203(a)(2) allows one year after the death instead.

How long do I have to file a Vermont will?

Thirty days. A person holding the will must deliver it within 30 days after learning of the testator's death, either to the Probate Division of the Superior Court where venue lies or to the executor named in the will (14 V.S.A. § 103). The named executor then files a death certificate and a petition to open the estate with reasonable promptness (§ 104(a)), which sets no day count at all.

When is the Vermont inventory due?

Within 60 days after appointment (14 V.S.A. § 1051). It lists the decedent's property in reasonable detail, with fair market value as of the date of death and any lien or encumbrance on each item. The court may extend that date for good cause. In a small estate the inventory goes in with the petition, and the fiduciary confirms, corrects or supplements it within 60 days after letters issue (§ 1902(b)).

How long does a Vermont surviving spouse have to elect against the will?

Four months from the later of service of the notice of rights of the surviving spouse or service of the inventory (14 V.S.A. § 319(e)(2)). The court provides that notice within 30 days of the filing of the initial inventory (§ 319(e)(1)). If a later inventory or account reports property that was never disclosed, the spouse has 30 days from service of that filing to elect against the new property (§ 319(f)).

When can a Vermont estate be closed?

Not before the four-month creditor window runs. The fiduciary starts paying allowed claims once four months from first publication expire (14 V.S.A. § 1207(a)). A waiver-of-administration estate closes on an affidavit filed not less than six months and not more than one year after appointment (§ 1853(a)), and a final accounting can be waived once the estate has been open at least six months, holds no remaining real estate, and carries a Department of Taxes clearance (§ 1069).

What happens if I miss a Vermont probate deadline?

The consequence depends on the date. A creditor who misses the four-month window is barred (§ 1203). A fiduciary who neglects an account after the court cites them is liable on the bond for the damages that accrue (§ 1056). A fiduciary who misses the waiver affidavit date is in default and has 15 days after notice of default to file or ask for more time before the court may impose sanctions, including ending the waiver (§ 1853(b)(2)).

Related Guides

• Vermont Probate Guide: the filing process from first petition to closing.
• Vermont Probate Timeline: how long each route takes once letters issue.
• Vermont Creditor Claims: presentation, allowance and rejection of claims.
• Vermont Probate Accounting: the annual and final accounts.
• Vermont Executor Duties: the fiduciary's job from appointment onward.
• Vermont Small Estate: the $45,000.00 route and the waiver of administration.
• Vermont Probate Courts: the fourteen Probate Divisions, one per county.

Court practice and the facts of an estate change how these dates land. Confirm the ones that affect your family with the Probate Division register or a licensed Vermont attorney, and work the rest of the series from the Vermont probate hub.

Sources:

• Title: 14 V.S.A. § 103 Custodian of will to deliver. Publisher: Vermont General Assembly. Publication Date: Current statute, last amended 2017, No. 195 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, accessed 2026-08-04. URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/14/003/00103
• Title: 14 V.S.A. § 104 Executor to present will and accept or refuse trust. Publisher: Vermont General Assembly. Publication Date: Current statute, last amended 2017, No. 195 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, accessed 2026-08-04. URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/14/003/00104
• Title: 14 V.S.A. § 319 Elective share of surviving spouse; notice of rights. Publisher: Vermont General Assembly. Publication Date: Current statute, added 2009, No. 55, § 5, last amended 2017, No. 195 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, accessed 2026-08-04. URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/14/042/00319
• Title: 14 V.S.A. § 906 Bond; amount, conditions. Publisher: Vermont General Assembly. Publication Date: Current statute, last amended 2017, No. 195 (Adj. Sess.), § 5, accessed 2026-08-04. URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/14/061/00906
• Title: 14 V.S.A. § 931 Limitations on claims of creditors. Publisher: Vermont General Assembly. Publication Date: Current statute, last amended 2023, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § E.307, eff. July 1, 2024, accessed 2026-08-04. URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/14/061/00931
• Title: 14 V.S.A. § 1051 Inventory. Publisher: Vermont General Assembly. Publication Date: Current statute, last amended 2017, No. 195 (Adj. Sess.), § 6, accessed 2026-08-04. URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/14/063/01051
• Title: 14 V.S.A. § 1053 Supplemental inventory. Publisher: Vermont General Assembly. Publication Date: Current statute, added 2017, No. 195 (Adj. Sess.), § 6, accessed 2026-08-04. URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/14/063/01053
• Title: 14 V.S.A. § 1055 Accounts of executors and administrators; time of rendering; examination. Publisher: Vermont General Assembly. Publication Date: Current statute, last amended 2017, No. 195 (Adj. Sess.), § 6, accessed 2026-08-04. URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/14/063/01055
• Title: 14 V.S.A. § 1069 Waiver of final accounting. Publisher: Vermont General Assembly. Publication Date: Current statute, added 2017, No. 195 (Adj. Sess.), § 6, accessed 2026-08-04. URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/14/063/01069
• Title: 14 V.S.A. § 1201 Notice to creditors. Publisher: Vermont General Assembly. Publication Date: Current statute, last amended 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 238a, eff. Feb. 1, 2011, accessed 2026-08-04. URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/14/066/01201
• Title: 14 V.S.A. § 1202 Statutes of limitations. Publisher: Vermont General Assembly. Publication Date: Current statute, added 1975, No. 240 (Adj. Sess.), § 7, accessed 2026-08-04. URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/14/066/01202
• Title: 14 V.S.A. § 1203 Limitations on presentation of claims. Publisher: Vermont General Assembly. Publication Date: Current statute, last amended 2023, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § E.307.1, eff. July 1, 2024, accessed 2026-08-04. URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/14/066/01203
• Title: 14 V.S.A. § 1206 Allowance of claims. Publisher: Vermont General Assembly. Publication Date: Current statute, last amended 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 238a, eff. Feb. 1, 2011, accessed 2026-08-04. URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/14/066/01206
• Title: 14 V.S.A. § 1207 Payment of claims. Publisher: Vermont General Assembly. Publication Date: Current statute, added 1975, No. 240 (Adj. Sess.), § 7, accessed 2026-08-04. URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/14/066/01207
• Title: 14 V.S.A. § 1853 Administration. Publisher: Vermont General Assembly. Publication Date: Current statute, added 2017, No. 195 (Adj. Sess.), § 12, accessed 2026-08-04. URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/14/080/01853
• Title: 14 V.S.A. § 1901 Commencement of small estate. Publisher: Vermont General Assembly. Publication Date: Current statute, last amended 2019, No. 36, § 1, accessed 2026-08-04. URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/14/081/01901
• Title: 14 V.S.A. § 1902 Letters of administration, small estates, notice. Publisher: Vermont General Assembly. Publication Date: Current statute, last amended 2019, No. 36, § 1, accessed 2026-08-04. URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/14/081/01902
• Title: 12 V.S.A. § 2555 Appeal to Civil Division. Publisher: Vermont General Assembly. Publication Date: Current statute, last amended 2011, No. 1, § 5, eff. Feb. 2, 2011, accessed 2026-08-04. URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/12/107/02555
• Title: 32 V.S.A. § 7446 When returns to be filed. Publisher: Vermont General Assembly. Publication Date: Current statute, amended 2009, No. 1 (Sp. Sess.), § H.34, accessed 2026-08-04. URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/190/07446
• Title: 32 V.S.A. § 7447 When tax payable. Publisher: Vermont General Assembly. Publication Date: Current statute, last amended 2003, No. 70 (Adj. Sess.), § 53, eff. March 1, 2004, accessed 2026-08-04. URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/190/07447
• Title: Form EST-191 Instructions, Estate Tax Return. Publisher: Vermont Department of Taxes. Publication Date: Rev. 10/25, accessed 2026-08-04. URL: https://tax.vermont.gov/sites/tax/files/documents/EST-191-Instr-2025.pdf
• Title: Instructions for Form 706. Publisher: Internal Revenue Service. Publication Date: September 2025, accessed 2026-08-04. URL: https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i706

It is not legal advice.