Vermont: Trustee Notice to Beneficiaries Requirements

Requirements one by one

Vermont uses two independent 60-day clocks

14A V.S.A. § 813(b)(2) starts the acceptance clock when the trustee accepts the
trusteeship. The notice states that acceptance and gives the trustee's name, address,
and telephone number.

Paragraph (b)(3) starts the other clock when the trustee acquires knowledge that an
irrevocable trust was created or that a formerly revocable trust became irrevocable,
whether by settlor death or otherwise. That notice identifies the trust and settlor
and states the rights to request the instrument and a trustee's report.

The qualified-beneficiary horizon has two exclusions

Section 103(13) begins with three tiers: current distributees and permissible
distributees, those who would move into that role if the current interests ended
without terminating the trust, and those who would take if the trust terminated.

Second- and final-tier beneficiaries drop out, however, if their interest arose from
a power-of-appointment exercise that is not irrevocable or if a trust amendment may
eliminate their interest. Section 301 permits notice through a person authorized to
represent and bind another person.

Delivery turns on likely receipt

Under § 109(a), the trustee may use a method reasonably suitable under the circumstances and likely
to result in receipt. Its examples include first-class mail, commercial delivery
service, personal delivery, delivery to the last-known residence or business, and a
properly directed electronic message.

The trustee need not notify a person whose identity or location is unknown and not
reasonably ascertainable. The cited notice statute supplies no newspaper-publication
fallback.

Trust terms may change the default notices

Section 105 generally lets trust terms prevail and lists the provisions they cannot
override. That mandatory list does not include § 813, so the two initial-notice rules
operate as defaults rather than protected duties.

Separately, § 109(c) allows the person entitled to a notice or document to waive it.
Section 813(d) addresses a beneficiary's waiver of reports or other information and
permits prospective withdrawal of that waiver.

What trips people up

• Not every remainder interest makes a qualified beneficiary. The two exclusions
  in § 103(13)(B) narrow the second and final tiers.
• Compensation notice is not another surveyed initial trigger. Section 813(b)(4)
  separately requires advance notice of a change in compensation method or rate.
• Requested reports use broader wording. Section 813(c) sends annual and
  termination reports to distributees and permissible distributees and to “other
  beneficiaries who request it,” not only other qualified beneficiaries.
• A charitable trustee does not routinely notify the Attorney General under this
  section. Section 813(a) requires that notice only on the Attorney General's
  request or as subsection (f) provides.
• The legacy cutoff stays tied to the title's effective date. Section 813(e)
  excludes pre-effective-date acceptance, creation of an irrevocable trust, and a
  revocable trust becoming irrevocable.

Common questions

Must the trust instrument accompany the initial notice?

No. The irrevocability notice states the right to request a copy. Section 813(b)(1)
then requires the trustee to furnish the trust instrument promptly upon a
beneficiary's request.

Must the trustee use certified mail?

No. Section 109 lists first-class mail and several other methods. The governing test
is a method reasonably suitable under the circumstances and likely to result in
receipt.

Who receives the trustee's duties while the trust is revocable?

Under § 603(a), those duties run exclusively to the settlor. A withdrawal-power
holder has the rights of a settlor for the property subject to the power while it can
be exercised.

Statutes and sources

• 14A V.S.A. § 813(a)-(e) — initial notices, contents, report rights, waiver,
  Attorney General rule, and legacy exclusion. Vermont General
  Assembly
  (accessed 2026-07-31).
• 14A V.S.A. § 103(13) — qualified-beneficiary tiers and exclusions. Vermont
  General Assembly
  (accessed 2026-07-31).
• 14A V.S.A. §§ 105(a)-(b) and 109(a)-(d) — trust-term priority, delivery,
  unknown recipients, and notice waiver. Default
  rules and
  notice methods
  (accessed 2026-07-31).
• 14A V.S.A. §§ 301(a)-(c) and 603(a)-(b) — representation, revocable-settlor,
  and withdrawal-power rules. Representation
  and power rules
  (accessed 2026-07-31).