Asset Protection Attorneys in Vermont

10 asset protection firms in Vermont, by city, county and firm type.

State

County

City

Practice Area

All Areas

Planning ahead

Estate Planning10 Tax Planning9 Special Needs Planning5 Asset Protection10 Medicaid Planning4

Settling an estate

Trust Administration6 Probate8 Probate Litigation5 Trust Litigation4

Capacity and care

Elder Law5 Guardianship4

Firm Type

Firm listings are for informational purposes only. SimplyTrust does not endorse or recommend any specific firm or attorney. Contact firms directly to discuss your situation and verify their current practice areas and availability.

10 firms

Barber & Waxman, Family Law Associates, PLC

31 Kilburn Street, Suite 224, Burlington, VT 05401

Burlington family law firm on Kilburn Street in Chittenden County with an estate planning practice. Its planning documents cover financial protection for children, asset protection, estate tax planning, healthcare choices, business succession and end-of-life care. Consultations are by phone or in person and billed at the attorney's hourly rate.

Virtual consultationsEstate PlanningTax PlanningAsset ProtectionFamily LawMediationPrenuptial Agreements

1-802-864-3120

Bergeron, Paradis & Fitzpatrick, LLP

34 Pearl Street, Essex Junction, VT 05452

Essex Junction firm on Pearl Street in Chittenden County. Represents executors, administrators, trustees and beneficiaries in estate and trust administration, from probate petitions, estate tax returns and accountings to trust and probate litigation, and handles adult and minor guardianship. Most estate planning work is billed on a flat fee.

Estate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate LitigationTrust Litigation+8

1-802-879-6304

Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC

199 Main Street, Suite 600, Burlington, VT 05401

Burlington firm on Main Street with Vermont offices in Montpelier, St. Johnsbury and Brattleboro and one in Lebanon, New Hampshire. Its trusts and estates team handles probating wills, trust administration, gift and estate tax returns, and probate and trust dispute resolution, alongside planning for U.S. and non-U.S. citizens. The group is chaired by Willemien Dingemans Miller, an ACTEC Fellow since 2000.

Estate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate LitigationTrust Litigation+4

1-802-863-2375

Langrock Sperry & Wool, LLP

111 S. Pleasant Street, Middlebury, VT 05753

Firm with offices in Middlebury and Burlington. Assists executors, administrators, trustees and beneficiaries in administering estates and trusts whether or not the assets pass through probate, and its estate litigators bring and defend will, trust and administration challenges in Probate Court, Superior Court and the Vermont Supreme Court.

Free consultationEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate LitigationTrust Litigation+2

1-802-388-6356

William C. Deveneau, Esq. PLC

160 Benmont Ave, Suite C3-80A, Bennington, VT 05201

Bennington solo practice serving all of Vermont, mainly Bennington, Windham, Rutland and Windsor Counties, with offices in Albany, New York and Athol, Massachusetts. Advises executors or serves as personal representative from opening the estate through the inventory, estate tax returns and closing, and litigates will and trust contests. Free 30-minute strategy session in person or by phone.

Solo PracticeServes the whole stateFree consultationVirtual consultationsEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationTrust LitigationElder Law+4

1-802-442-9800

Fitts, Olson, Giddings & Ferrara, P.L.C.

16 High Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301

Brattleboro firm in the same High Street building since the 1950s, the oldest continuously operating law association in the Brattleboro area. Handles probate and estate administration, prepares wills, powers of attorney and revocable and irrevocable trusts, and advises on asset protection and long-term nursing care. Takes new matters by phone only, not by email.

Solo PracticeEstate PlanningProbateElder LawTax PlanningAsset Protection+3

1-802-254-2345

Sheehey Furlong & Behm P.C.

30 Main Street, 6th Floor, Burlington, VT 05402

Burlington firm with a White River Junction office whose attorneys handle matters in all fourteen Vermont counties. Its estates and trusts attorneys represent trustees in trust administration and fiduciaries and families in probate court estate and guardianship proceedings. Principal Mark Melendy served on the bar committees that drafted Vermont's trust-decanting and directed-trust acts.

Serves the whole stateEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder LawTax Planning+3

1-802-864-9891

Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC

26 Railroad Ave, Essex Junction, VT 05452

Essex Junction estate planning and elder law firm handling trust administration for clients throughout Vermont, from Burlington to St. Johnsbury and Newport. After a death it guides successor trustees through transferring trust assets, and it prepares long-term care Medicaid applications and special needs plans. Ellen LaPlante is licensed in Vermont and New York.

Serves the whole stateEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationElder LawSpecial Needs PlanningAsset ProtectionMedicaid Planning

1-802-879-7133

Pratt Vreeland Kennelly Martin & White, Ltd.

64 North Main Street, Rutland, VT 05701

Rutland general civil practice firm handling probate administration with and without wills, including small estates, estate property sales, ancillary proceedings and accountings. It also takes will challenges, estate disputes, probate appeals and guardianships, and offers trust administration, including limited fiduciary services, and supplemental needs trusts.

Estate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate LitigationElder Law+7

1-802-775-7141

The Will and Trust Planning Firm (Nicole Peck McPhee, P.C.)

405 Curtis Brook Road, Rutland, VT 05701

Rutland practice Nicole McPhee opened in 1996, serving all 14 Vermont counties; she has appeared before probate courts in every county. Her work includes Vermont probate administration and guardianship matters as well as wills, trusts, special needs trusts and estate tax planning, for a flat fee in three meetings held in person, by Zoom or through an online portal.

Solo PracticeSince 1996Serves the whole stateVirtual consultationsEstate PlanningProbateTax PlanningGuardianshipSpecial Needs PlanningAsset Protection

1-802-773-4935

Estate planning attorneys in Vermont average $297 an hour for wills and estates work. A flat-fee package runs $891 to $1,782 for a simple individual will and $2,400 to $3,600 for a basic revocable trust. An online service prices the same documents in the tens to low hundreds of dollars; the Vermont will cost calculator sets the two side by side.

In Vermont, estates with personal property of $45,000 or less qualify for the Small Estate Administration, a court procedure short of full probate. That route is a form rather than a court case, and most families handle it without an attorney. Above the line, formal probate generally benefits from counsel for the procedural work, even when nothing is contested. The Vermont probate calculator estimates the cost by estate value.

In Vermont, the situations where counsel is typically worth the cost are: a blended family with children from a prior relationship; a business, rental property or significant investment assets; a dependent with special needs, who needs a special-needs trust to keep benefits; an estate near or above the Vermont estate tax threshold of $5,000,000; substantial property in more than one state. Where none of these apply, an online or self-help document is often enough.

Filter the directory by county and by the practice area you need, and look for experience with your situation; a board certification in estate planning, trust or probate law is a strong signal. Most Vermont estate planning attorneys offer an initial consultation, some free and some for a flat fee. Ask up front whether the firm bills by the hour or by package, and what your situation is expected to cost.

Asset Protection Attorneys in Vermont

Estate planning attorneys in Vermont charge $297 per hour for wills and estates work. A simple will done through an attorney typically runs $891–$1,782; online services cost $30–$300 for the same document.

Vermont imposes its own estate tax separate from the federal one, kicking in well below the federal exemption. Estates near the state threshold benefit from real planning — not because every family needs it, but because the line is lower than people expect.

Estates under $45,000 in Vermont can use a simplified affidavit instead of formal probate. Most families in that range can handle it without retaining counsel.

Legal Sources

(4)·Updated October 15, 2026

SimplyTrust Editorial

Data sourced from Vermont statutes and official state code. How we research.

Forms for Planning Your Estate in Vermont

Free forms for planning your estate in Vermont: will, living trust, pour-over will, powers of attorney and TOD deed. Prepare each form for Vermont.

$12/month

Revocable Living Trust

Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.

Get Started

Free

Pour-Over Will

In Vermont, a pour-over will is signed before 2 witnesses and moves anything left outside the trust into it through probate.

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Free

Transfer on Death Deed

Transfer real property to a beneficiary upon your death without probate. Available in 34 states and the District of Columbia.

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Free

Last Will and Testament

In Vermont, a will is signed before 2 witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimony.

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All Vermont forms

Tools for Planning Your Estate in Vermont

Free tools for planning your estate in Vermont: will and trust costs, trust or TOD deed, and the signing rules. Run each tool for Vermont and read its answer.

Trust or Will: Which Costs Less?

In Vermont, a will-based plan pays probate attorney fees of typically 1.7% to 2.7% of the estate; a funded revocable trust keeps those assets out of probate and off that fee.

Calculate Costs

How Much Does a Revocable Living Trust Cost?

An attorney-prepared revocable living trust in Vermont runs $2,400 to $3,600 for an individual, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.

Calculate Costs

Do I Need a TOD Deed?

Vermont does not authorize transfer on death deeds; sole-name real property goes through probate, at least 6 months for a simple estate, unless held in a trust or with a right of survivorship.

Get the Answer

Are My Beneficiary Designations Protected?

Vermont does not revoke an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorce; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.

Get the Answer

All Vermont tools

Asset Protection Attorneys in Vermont

Forms for Planning Your Estate in Vermont

Revocable Living Trust

Pour-Over Will

Transfer on Death Deed

Last Will and Testament

Tools for Planning Your Estate in Vermont

Trust or Will: Which Costs Less?

How Much Does a Revocable Living Trust Cost?

Do I Need a TOD Deed?

Are My Beneficiary Designations Protected?

Your kids shouldn't have to do this.

Asset Protection Attorneys in Vermont