Skip to main content
Vermont Transfer on Death Deed
Support GuideVermont9 min read

Vermont Transfer on Death Deed

Vermont has no transfer on death deed for real estate. It has a codified enhanced life estate deed at 27 V.S.A. chapter 6, and TOD titling for a car.

By Settled Editorial

Vermont has no transfer on death deed. There is no beneficiary deed chapter in Title 27, no statutory TOD deed form, and nothing a town clerk can record under that name.

The next sentence is the one most summaries get wrong. "Vermont has no statute for this" is not true. Vermont enacted a real property death transfer statute in 2019 and it is in force. What the legislature created is an enhanced life estate deed, not a transfer on death deed, and the difference between those two instruments is worth understanding before you sign anything. This page answers the question and hands off. It is general information, not legal advice. Have a licensed Vermont attorney draft or review any deed that affects your home.

What Vermont Enacted Instead

27 V.S.A. § 651 states the short title in one line: this chapter "shall be known as the 'Enhanced Life Estate Deed Act' or the 'ELED Act'." The chapter was added by 2019, No. 145 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, effective July 13, 2020, and it runs from § 651 through § 660 covering execution and recording, revocation, and what happens when a grantee dies first.

Other states call the same document a Lady Bird deed. Florida and Michigan run theirs on common law drafting rather than a statute. Vermont wrote its version into the code and supplied an optional form at 27 V.S.A. § 660, which begins "ENHANCED LIFE ESTATE DEED (Vermont statutory form deed)" and reserves to the grantors "a common law life estate, with the exclusive use, possession, and enjoyment of the property" together with "the right to convey the property."

That reserved right to convey is the whole mechanism. The grantor keeps control while alive, including the power to sell the property out from under the named grantee, and the grantee takes nothing until the grantor dies. A transfer on death deed reaches a similar outcome through a different doctrine: it is a revocable, nontestamentary conveyance that takes effect at death. Vermont chose the life estate route.

The full walkthrough, including how the deed is signed, where it is recorded, how to revoke it, what happens when a grantee dies first, and the property transfer tax question, is on Vermont's enhanced life estate deed.

Not sure which documents you need?

The free estate planning assessment builds a short document list for your situation.

Take the free estate planning assessment

Why the Wrong Form Is a Real Problem

Filling in a transfer on death deed template bought for another state and recording it in a Vermont town is not a harmless mistake.

Vermont land records are municipal. A deed is recorded with the clerk of the town where the land sits, not with a county recorder. The clerk records instruments affecting title; the clerk does not adjudicate whether a document does what it says. So a form headed "Transfer on Death Deed" can end up in the land records of a Vermont town while resting on no Vermont statute at all.

The consequence arrives later, usually when the property is sold or when the estate opens. A title examiner reads the record and looks for the authority that made the transfer work. For an enhanced life estate deed, that authority is 27 V.S.A. chapter 6. For a document borrowed from a beneficiary deed state, there is nothing to point at. The family then discovers the house is still in the estate and probate is required after all, which is the exact outcome the deed was meant to prevent.

Vermont Answers the Question Differently for Different Assets

The most common planning error here is reasoning by analogy from one asset class to another. Vermont's answers do not line up.

Real estate: no. No TOD deed, no beneficiary deed. Use the enhanced life estate deed, a revocable trust, or survivorship ownership.

A car: yes. 23 V.S.A. § 2023(a)(5) lists "TOD (transfer on death)" among the ownership designations that may appear on a Vermont certificate of title. Subsection (f) is the operative rule: where the title identifies a person who will become the owner on the death of the principal owner, the principal owner "shall have all rights of ownership and rights of transfer until his or her death", the designated transferee has no ownership rights until the principal owner has died as established by a valid death certificate, and the transferee then takes the vehicle subject to any existing security interests. The Department of Motor Vehicles handles this without a court, and the designation is added using form VT-007, Transfer on Death, whose own text limits it to vehicles registered or titled to one owner.

A boat, snowmobile or all-terrain vehicle: no. 23 V.S.A. § 3816(a), the parallel provision for those craft, lists only TEN ENT, JTEN, TEN COM and PTNRS. No TOD subdivision exists. A separate rule in § 3816(e) does pass such a craft to a surviving spouse in an intestate estate, but that is a spousal transfer rather than a beneficiary designation you choose.

Stocks and other securities: yes. 9 V.S.A. chapter 134, "Transfer on Death Security Registration", was added by 1999, No. 23, § 1. 9 V.S.A. § 4352 limits beneficiary form registration to securities showing sole ownership by one individual, or multiple ownership by two or more with right of survivorship rather than as tenants in common.

So Vermont says yes to transfer on death for a car and for a brokerage account, and no for the house and the boat. Nothing about the vehicle rule implies anything about the land rule, and a plan built on that inference gets the largest asset wrong.

What to Do Instead

If your goal is keeping a Vermont house out of probate, the options that actually exist are set out on how to avoid probate in Vermont. In short:

  • An enhanced life estate deed under 27 V.S.A. chapter 6, the closest instrument to the one you were looking for.
  • A revocable living trust holding the property, which also handles incapacity and multiple properties.
  • Survivorship ownership, where it fits the family and the tax picture.

Each carries different consequences for control, creditors, Medicaid planning and basis. That is a conversation with a Vermont attorney rather than a form choice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Vermont have a transfer on death deed?

No. Vermont has no transfer on death deed and no beneficiary deed for real estate. The instrument Vermont did enact is the enhanced life estate deed, created by the Enhanced Life Estate Deed Act at 27 V.S.A. chapter 6, added by 2019, No. 145 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, effective July 13, 2020. It reaches the same result by a different legal route.

Is a Vermont transfer on death deed form valid if I fill one out?

A form headed transfer on death deed has no Vermont statute behind it, so a town clerk has nothing to record it under and no statute tells a later buyer or title examiner what it did. Vermont's own optional form is the enhanced life estate deed at 27 V.S.A. § 660. Use the instrument the state actually enacted and have a Vermont attorney draft or review it.

What is the Vermont equivalent of a TOD deed?

The enhanced life estate deed, often called a Lady Bird deed elsewhere. The grantor keeps a life estate with exclusive use and possession plus the right to convey the property, so nothing vests in the grantee until death and the grantor can undo it. Vermont codified this while Florida and Michigan run their versions on common law.

Does Vermont allow transfer on death for a car?

Yes. 23 V.S.A. § 2023(a)(5) lists TOD, transfer on death, among the ownership designations a Vermont certificate of title may carry, and § 2023(f) makes the principal owner keep every right of ownership and transfer until death. The designation goes on using DMV form VT-007, which applies to vehicles registered or titled to one owner.

Can a Vermont boat or snowmobile carry a TOD designation?

No. 23 V.S.A. § 3816(a), the parallel provision for a vessel, snowmobile or all-terrain vehicle held by more than one owner, lists only TEN ENT, JTEN, TEN COM and PTNRS. There is no TOD subdivision, so Vermont gives transfer on death titling to a car and not to a boat.

Does Vermont have transfer on death registration for stocks?

Yes, for securities. 9 V.S.A. chapter 134, Transfer on Death Security Registration, was added by 1999, No. 23, § 1. Under 9 V.S.A. § 4352 only registrations showing sole ownership by one individual, or multiple ownership with right of survivorship, may be registered in beneficiary form.

Related Guides

Sources:

It is not legal advice.

Prefer to talk it through? Connect with an estate-planning attorney

Settled Estate is not a law firm and does not give 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.

All Vermont guides← Back to all articles