Skip to main content
Vermont Will Contests
Support GuideVermont22 min read

Vermont Will Contests

How to contest a Vermont will: written objections are due at least seven days before the allowance hearing, and the appeal runs to the Civil Division.

By Settled Editorial

A Vermont will contest runs through the Probate Division of the Superior Court, and the practical window opens before the will is allowed. 14 V.S.A. § 107 lets the court allow a will with no hearing at all once the heirs at law and the surviving spouse file consents. Withhold that consent and the court schedules a hearing. Written objections are due at least seven days before it.

Timing decides most Vermont contests. Once the court allows the will, 14 V.S.A. § 102 makes that allowance conclusive as to due execution and validity, and the remaining route is an appeal to the Civil Division of the Superior Court under 12 V.S.A. § 2555 at a fee of $295.00.

This page owns grounds and procedure. What a valid Vermont will requires sits one level up, and how the Probate Division handles it covers the wider case a contest lives inside. A licensed Vermont attorney is where a specific set of facts belongs.

The Contest Starts With a Consent That Is Not Signed

Vermont builds its will allowance around consents. § 107(a) reads: "If consents are filed by all the heirs at law and surviving spouse, a will may be allowed without hearing. If consents are not obtained, the court shall schedule a hearing and notice shall be given as provided by the Rules of Probate Procedure."

The Supreme Court rewrote the matching procedure rule to say the same thing. Its order amending Vermont Rule of Probate Procedure 3(a) and (b)(3), signed May 6, 2025 and effective January 1, 2026, now reads that where the petitioner reasonably believes the heirs at law and surviving spouse will consent, the petitioner may file the petition without serving them and may seek those consents. If all of them consent, the court may allow the petition without further notice. If they do not all consent within a reasonable time, the court sets a hearing date and the petitioner serves the petition and hearing notice on all interested persons.

The Reporter's Notes to that amendment add the sentence worth memorizing: "Consent is not required of all other interested persons." A charity named in the will does not hold a consent veto. An heir at law does.

So the first decision in front of an heir at law is whether to sign. Withholding a consent is not a contest by itself. It converts a paperwork allowance into a noticed hearing, which is the forum where a challenge gets heard.

Need help with your probate case?

Answer a few questions to see whether Vermont probate is required and which process applies.

Take the 2-minute assessment

Objections Are Due Seven Days Before the Hearing

Here is the operative deadline, verbatim from § 107(b): "Objections to allowance of the will must be filed in writing not less than seven days prior to the hearing."

Miss it and § 107(b) hands the court two shortcuts. It may allow the will on the testimony of only one of the subscribing witnesses, if that witness testifies the will was executed as chapter 1 of Title 14 requires. Or it may allow the will with no hearing at all where the document meets the self-proving criteria of 14 V.S.A. § 108.

Two points follow from the wording.

  • The clock runs off the hearing date, not the death. That date sits on the docket of the Probate Division holding the estate, and it cannot be derived by counting months from the death. Vermont runs one Probate Division per county, and the Vermont probate court directory lists all 14.
  • The objection has to be in writing and filed. Telling the executor or the register that you disagree does not satisfy the section.

The Judiciary's published Probate Division fee schedule prices no separate filing fee for an objection to the allowance of a will. The priced step comes later, at the appeal. Deadlines run in parallel across a Vermont estate, and this one is only a single strand of them, so read the Vermont probate deadlines guide alongside it.

Who Counts as an Interested Person

14 V.S.A. § 204(1) supplies the definition, and it is broad: "'Interested person' includes heirs, devisees, legatees, children, spouses, creditors, beneficiaries, and any others having a property right in or claim against a trust estate or the estate of a decedent, or person under guardianship that may be affected by the proceeding." The same subdivision adds that the parties at the commencement of a probate proceeding include all interested persons.

Consent status is narrower than party status. § 107(a) asks only the heirs at law and the surviving spouse for consents, and 14 V.S.A. § 314 fixes who the heirs are once the spouse's share comes off the top: descendants by right of representation first, then parents, then siblings and their descendants, then grandparents, then next of kin in equal degree. The Vermont intestate succession guide walks those tiers.

The court's own instruction sheet on notifying interested persons of a hearing on allowance draws the line cleanly. Each heir at law is a party to the hearing. Whether a beneficiary who is not an heir at law has standing to participate as a party may depend on a legal interpretation by the presiding Probate Judge. Every beneficiary named in the will still gets notice of the hearing, whatever the answer on standing turns out to be.

Disappointment alone carries no standing. A caregiver who expected a gift, or a relative who dislikes the split, holds no property right in the estate.

The Grounds a Vermont Contest Runs On

Vermont prints no statutory list of grounds. The working set comes from the statutes a will has to satisfy before the court may allow it.

Execution failed

14 V.S.A. § 5(a) sets three requirements. The will must be in writing. It must be signed in the presence of two or more credible witnesses by the testator, or in the testator's name by another person acting in the testator's presence and by the testator's express direction. And the witnesses must attest and subscribe the will in the presence of the testator and each other.

That last clause is the one out-of-state templates drop. Witnesses who sign on different days, out of one another's company, have not met § 5(a)(3). Section 5(b) opens a narrow exception for remote witnessing, and it lasts only while the Emergency Administrative Rules for Remote Notarial Acts adopted by the Vermont Secretary of State remain in effect, so Vermont is not a permanent remote-witnessing state.

One section narrows this ground considerably. 14 V.S.A. § 112(a) accepts a will executed outside Vermont in the mode prescribed either by the place of execution or by the testator's domicile, so long as the document is in writing and subscribed by the testator. A handwritten will signed in a state that accepts handwritten wills can be allowed here even though Vermont's own chapter 1 has no such provision.

Capacity was missing

14 V.S.A. § 1 states the whole standard in one sentence: "Every individual 18 years of age or over or emancipated by court order who is of sound mind may make a will in writing." Sound mind is measured at the signing, which is why the drafting file, the medical record from that week, and the witnesses' memories matter more than a diagnosis that arrived afterward.

The self-proving page carries weight here too. § 108 lists what the testator and witnesses swear to before a notary, and item (4) has each witness attest that to the best of their knowledge the testator was at least 18 or emancipated by court order, and was of sound mind and under no constraint or undue influence. A signed acknowledgment puts sworn statements on the record from the two people who watched the signing.

Undue influence, fraud or duress

Vermont's statutes name undue influence in § 108(4) and never define it. Claims of this shape rest on circumstances rather than a single document: who arranged the drafting appointment, who was in the room, who held the power of attorney, who gained, and how far the new will departs from every earlier version. Vermont judges weigh those facts case by case, so this is the ground where a Vermont attorney earns the fee.

The will was revoked

14 V.S.A. § 11 revokes a will two ways. A later will revokes an earlier one expressly or by inconsistency. A revocatory act on the document also revokes it, where the testator acted with intent to revoke or another person acted in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction. Subsection (a)(2) counts burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating or destroying, whether or not the mark touched any of the words.

Subsections (b) and (c) then set two presumptions. A later will that disposes of the whole estate is presumed to replace the earlier one. A later will that does not is presumed to supplement it. Either presumption falls only to clear and convincing evidence.

What is not a ground

  • An uneven split. A will that favors one child over another is unusual, not invalid.
  • A gift to a witness. 14 V.S.A. § 10 makes a beneficial devise or legacy to a subscribing witness or that witness's spouse voidable unless two other competent subscribing witnesses signed. The gift is at risk, and the will stands. A will provision paying a debt keeps the creditor competent as a witness.
  • Disliking the executor. That objection attacks the appointment, and Vermont routes it separately. 14 V.S.A. § 905 covers an appeal to the Civil Division from an order appointing an executor or administrator, and directs the Civil Division to name a suitable replacement when the appeal is sustained. The Vermont executor duties guide covers the job itself.

What the Allowance Hearing Looks Like

Service comes first. Vermont Rule of Probate Procedure 4(d), as amended by a Supreme Court order dated January 6, 2026 and effective July 1, 2026, has the notice and petition served together on all persons who are parties at commencement, by restricted certified mail with return receipt requested, by personal service, or by another method the rule allows.

Three sections then shape the hearing itself.

  • A missing witness does not sink the will. 14 V.S.A. § 110 lets the court admit a will where a subscribing witness is unavailable or incapable of testifying, on the testimony or affidavit of at least one credible disinterested individual that the signature is in the maker's handwriting, or on other sufficient proof of the handwriting, so long as the will complies on its face. The court keeps discretion to demand more.
  • Absent and unascertained interests get a representative. 14 V.S.A. § 202(2) lets the Probate Division appoint a guardian ad litem at any point for a minor, an incapacitated, unborn or unascertained person, or a person whose identity or address is unknown, and requires the court to state its reasons on the record.
  • Notice is what binds people. 14 V.S.A. § 203 says an order binds all who are given notice of the proceeding, though less than all interested persons were notified.

One route out of the Probate Division exists before any appeal. 14 V.S.A. § 118 lets the Probate Division refer a matter directly to the Civil Division of the Superior Court to conserve judicial resources, on its own motion or on an interested person's motion, after consulting the Civil Division and obtaining its consent. A decision by the Civil Division on whether to consent is final and cannot be appealed.

After Allowance the Window Narrows

Section 102 is short and it does the work: "The allowance of a will shall be conclusive as to its due execution and validity."

Notice of that allowance goes out fast. 14 V.S.A. § 111 requires the court to mail written notice within 30 days after the allowance to each beneficiary, devisee or legatee named in the will, and to any other person who contested the allowance. If a challenger already objected, the court has to tell them the outcome.

Two post-judgment routes remain, and both sit in the rules rather than the statutes. Vermont Rule of Probate Procedure 60 is titled "Relief from Judgment or Order". Its paragraph (c), as amended by the Supreme Court on March 2, 2026 and effective July 1, 2026, reads: "A motion to alter or amend the judgment shall be filed not later than 14 days after entry of the judgment." The 2026 amendment swapped "served" for "filed" so the deadline attaches to filing with the court.

The rest of Rule 60 matters before anyone relies on it. The Vermont Judiciary states on its own rules page that all Vermont court rules are available through LexisNexis, and it publishes free full text only for orders promulgated in the past two years. The consolidated rule text is not on a free State page, so confirm the current wording with the Probate Division or an attorney rather than a summary.

Appealing to the Civil Division

Vermont sends a probate appeal to the Civil Division of the Superior Court first, not to the Supreme Court. Three statutes set that up.

  • 12 V.S.A. § 2553 gives the Civil Division appellate jurisdiction over matters originally within the Probate Division's jurisdiction.
  • 12 V.S.A. § 2555 gives the right to appeal to any "person interested in an order, sentence, decree, or denial of a Probate Division of the Superior Court, who considers himself or herself injured thereby."
  • 14 V.S.A. § 101 confirms where a will can end up allowed: in the Probate Division, or by appeal in the Civil Division or the Supreme Court.

The Judiciary publishes one statewide form, Notice of Appeal from the Probate Division to the Civil Division, number 700-00042, revised 03/2025. It asks for one date, the date the Probate Division issued the decision, plus a signature. Its instruction block says to file the form in the Probate Division case, pay $295.00 or file an Application to Waive Filing Fees and Service Costs, send a copy to all parties and file a Certificate of Service, and use the new case number the appeal receives.

32 V.S.A. § 1431(b)(7) is the authority for that $295.00, charged "prior to the filing of any appeal from the Probate Division of the Superior Court to the Civil Division of the Superior Court." Subsection (h) allows a waiver of part or all of the fee under Vermont Rule of Civil Procedure 3.1 where the court finds the applicant unable to pay.

One number this page cannot give you is the appeal deadline. The form itself prints no period and points readers to Vermont Rule of Civil Procedure 72, and the State publishes that rule only through LexisNexis. Rather than guess, ask the Probate Division register or a Vermont attorney for the appeal period the day the decision issues, because it is short in every version of the rule.

Beyond the Civil Division, 12 V.S.A. § 2551 gives the Supreme Court jurisdiction over questions of law arising in Superior Court probate proceedings. The Judiciary's published instructions for appealing to the Supreme Court set 30 days from the judgment date to file the Notice of Appeal with the trial court, a $295.00 entry fee matching 32 V.S.A. § 1431(a), and a Docketing Statement within 14 days of the notice.

When the Will Never Reaches the Court

Some Vermont disputes start because a document is sitting in somebody's drawer. The statutes give three levers.

14 V.S.A. § 103 requires a custodian of a will to deliver it within 30 days after learning of the testator's death, either to the Probate Division where venue lies or to the executor named in the will. 14 V.S.A. § 106 backs that up. A custodian who intentionally refuses or fails to deliver a will after a court order may face civil contempt proceedings under 12 V.S.A. § 122, and anyone who suffers damages from an intentional failure to deliver has an action in Superior Court for damages and injunctive relief. 14 V.S.A. § 104 puts a matching duty on the named executor, who must file a death certificate and a petition to open the estate with reasonable promptness.

Where property rather than paper has gone missing, 14 V.S.A. § 1551 lets an executor, administrator, heir, legatee, creditor or other interested person file a motion for discovery in the Probate Division alleging that someone concealed, embezzled or conveyed the decedent's property, or holds a writing that tends to disclose the decedent's interest, including the will itself. The court may subpoena that person for examination under oath or order answers to interrogatories.

A will that surfaces after an intestate estate opened does not arrive too late. 14 V.S.A. § 924 revokes the letters of administration once the will is allowed, ends the administrator's powers, and directs an accounting.

If the Real Money Sits in a Trust

Plenty of Vermont estates hold their value in a revocable trust behind a short pour-over will, and attacking that trust runs on its own clock.

14A V.S.A. § 604(a) allows a proceeding contesting the validity of a trust that was revocable immediately before the settlor's death within the earlier of three years after the settlor's death, or four months after the trustee sends the person a copy of the trust instrument plus notice of the trust's existence, the trustee's name and address, and the time allowed for commencing a proceeding.

Subsection (b) lets the trustee distribute the trust property after the settlor's death without liability, unless the trustee has actual knowledge of a pending contest, or a potential contestant gave written notice and then filed within 60 days. Subsection (c) makes a beneficiary of a trust later found invalid liable to return the distribution to the extent the invalidity reaches it. The Vermont probate avoidance guide covers how these trusts fit the rest of an estate plan.

Vermont Wrote No No-Contest Rule Into Its Wills Chapters

Several states legislated whether a forfeiture clause survives a challenge brought in good faith. Vermont's wills chapter, 14 V.S.A. §§ 1 through 11, and its will-allowance chapter, 14 V.S.A. §§ 101 through 118, contain no section addressing a no-contest provision. Neither do the four sections of chapter 6 of the Vermont Trust Code, which govern revocable trusts.

A clause in a Vermont will can still put a gift at risk, and how a Vermont court would treat one is a question for a Vermont attorney holding the document. Weighing what a clause would forfeit against what a successful challenge would produce settles a lot of these arguments before anyone reaches the merits.

What This Means for a Vermont Will Contest

A Vermont contest turns on a short list of questions, and the sections above answer each one.

  • Whether the consents were signed. § 107(a) allows the will with no hearing once every heir at law and the surviving spouse consent. A consent withheld converts the allowance into a noticed hearing.
  • The hearing date. § 107(b) requires written objections not less than seven days before it. That date lives on the Probate Division docket.
  • Standing. § 204(1) defines an interested person broadly, while § 107(a) limits the consent list to heirs at law and the surviving spouse.
  • The ground, and the proof behind it. Execution under § 5, capacity under § 1, undue influence as the § 108 acknowledgment names it, or revocation under § 11.
  • What happens if you wait. § 102 makes the allowance conclusive as to due execution and validity, and § 111 has the court mail notice of it within 30 days.
  • The appeal. 12 V.S.A. § 2555 sends it to the Civil Division on form 700-00042 at $295.00 under 32 V.S.A. § 1431(b)(7), with the period set by Vermont Rule of Civil Procedure 72, which the State publishes only through LexisNexis.
  • Whether a trust holds the assets. 14A V.S.A. § 604(a) runs the earlier of three years or four months from the trustee's notice.
  • What an intestate estate would pay. A contest that succeeds hands the estate to the descent statutes, and those do not always pay a challenger more than the will did.

This page is general information about Vermont will contests, not legal advice about any particular estate or any particular will. The bar in these cases is high, most challenges do not succeed, and the objection window closes seven days before a hearing that only the docket announces. Whether a ground exists, whether a person has standing, and whether any deadline has already run are questions that turn on medical records, testimony and dates no article can weigh, so they belong with a licensed Vermont attorney and with the Probate Division of the Superior Court holding the estate.

Sources:

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.

All Vermont guides← Back to all articles