Petition to Probate a Will Requirements in Vermont

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law and proceeding type

Vermont opens the ordinary testate estate through Form 700-00001, a petition to open the decedent's estate and allow the will. Under 14 V.S.A. § 101, a will is not effective until the Probate Division allows it.

The same proceeding asks the court to recognize and appoint the executor. The no-assets boundary in § 104(b) permits a named executor to file the death certificate and will without opening an estate when no assets need probate administration.

Court and venue

The filing goes to the Probate Division of Superior Court. Sections 103-.104 refer to the division where venue lies, and the statewide Judiciary page directs filing in the county where the decedent lived at death.

Who may petition

The Judiciary's statewide guidance says any interested person may petition to open the estate. Separately, § 104(a) imposes a reasonable-promptness duty on a person named executor who knows of the will.

Petition contents

Form 700-00001 asks for the decedent's residence and date of death; estimated probate realty, personalty, and total; will and codicil dates; proposed representative and contact information; nominee status; acceptance; and the request to allow the will and open the estate. The petitioner signs a perjury declaration.

The opening packet includes a certified death certificate, original will and codicils, and Form 700-00002E. That list supplies names, addresses, interest/relationship, minor birth dates, the surviving spouse, heirs, and all other persons or entities named in the will.

Original will, copy, and lodging

The domestic opening form requires the ORIGINAL will and codicils. Under § 103, the custodian may initially deliver the will to the proper Probate Division or the named executor. The executor's § 104 filing duty then includes the estate- opening petition and death certificate.

Form 700-00001 reserves an authenticated will and foreign-probate copy for an ancillary out-of-state estate, not the ordinary domestic opening route.

Filing or production deadline

Section 103 gives the custodian 30 days after learning of the death to deliver the will to the court or named executor. Section 104 gives the named executor a different clock: filing with “reasonable promptness.” It does not state a fixed number of petition days.

Proof and self-proving route

If no timely objection is filed, § 107 permits allowance on one subscribing witness's testimony. A will meeting § 108's sworn-acknowledgment criteria may instead be allowed without a hearing.

When a subscribing witness is unavailable or incapable, § 110 permits testimony or affidavit from at least one credible disinterested person about the testator's handwriting, or other sufficient handwriting proof, while preserving the court's discretion to require more evidence.

Notice, hearing, and objections

Under § 107(a), consents from every heir at law and the surviving spouse permit allowance without a hearing. If those consents are not obtained, the court schedules a hearing and notice follows the Probate Rules. Written objections are due at least seven days before that hearing.

After allowance, § 111 gives the court 30 days to mail notice to each named beneficiary, devisee, or legatee and anyone who contested allowance.

Executor qualification, bond, and letters

Section 902 directs the court, after allowance, to issue letters to the named executor if the person accepts and gives any required bond. A nonresident is appointed only in the court's discretion and must file a resident-agent designation. A minor nominee cannot receive letters while under age.

Section 906 requires a bond, lets the court set its amount and decide whether sureties are required, and requires filing before letters. Under § 909, a nominee who refuses appointment or neglects for 20 days to give bond cannot act, and the court may turn to another named executor or an administrator with the will annexed.

What trips people up

• Bond and surety are different. Section 906 requires the bond. The court may decide whether the bond needs sureties.
• The 30-day clock belongs to the custodian. The named executor's petition duty uses reasonable promptness instead.
• Not every will requires a hearing. Complete heir-and-spouse consents or an unopposed self-proved will can support allowance without one.

Common questions

Must the original will be filed?

Yes for the ordinary domestic opening packet. Form 700-00001 expressly requires the original will and codicils. Its authenticated-copy item is for an ancillary estate.

Can someone other than the named executor open the estate?

The statewide Judiciary guidance says any interested person may petition. The named executor separately has the statutory duty to file with reasonable promptness after learning of the will.

Does a will clause eliminate the executor's bond?

Section 906 says the executor “shall give a bond.” The court sets the amount and may decide whether sureties are required. A waiver of surety is not the same as eliminating the bond itself.

Statutes and sources

• 14 V.S.A. §§ 101-111 — allowance, custodian and executor clocks, hearing, objections, self-proof, unavailable-witness proof, and post-allowance notice. Official Vermont Statutes (accessed 2026-08-09).
• 14 V.S.A. §§ 902-910 — letters, nonresident executor, bond, refusal, and minor nominee. Official Vermont Statutes (accessed 2026-08-09).
• Forms 700-00001 and 700-00002E — petition, required attachments, acceptance, consents, perjury declaration, and interested-person list. Official Vermont Judiciary estate forms (accessed through same-URL fallback 2026-08-09).
• Vermont Judiciary, Estates and Wills — petitioner, opening packet, county, and possible hearing. Official guidance (accessed through same-URL fallback 2026-08-09).