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.
Essex Junction is in Chittenden County.
More Tax Planning Firms in Chittenden County
Burlington firm on Battery Street, opened in 1917, whose estate group handles estates of all sizes. It guides families through estate administration and distribution, including probate court, property transfers and federal and state estate tax returns, and administers and interprets trusts, charitable trusts and private foundations. Probate and trust litigation is supported by the firm's litigation group.
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.
Burlington firm on St. Paul Street, traced to the practice Clarke A. Gravel opened in 1955 after serving as Chittenden probate judge. It handles all phases of probate, estate and trust administration for estates from modest to multi-million-dollar, including probate court filings, appraisals, estate and fiduciary income tax returns and post-mortem tax planning. Its litigators take on will and trust contests, creditor claims, fiduciary accountings and removal of trustees and administrators.
Burlington firm on Shelburne Road. Administers decedents' trusts and estates, advising executors, personal representatives and trustees or serving in those roles directly, and handles probate administration and litigation, co-counseling contested probate matters with its litigation group. Also helps clients qualify for long-term care Medicaid.
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.
Probate in Chittenden County
Probate Court Record
Chittenden County Superior Court - Probate Division
Chittenden County
Phone
Hours
Office
Website
E-filing
Filing in person
Self-represented filing
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Chittenden County →
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Chittenden County? →Settling an estate in Chittenden County →
Forms for Planning and Settling an Estate in Vermont
Free Vermont forms to plan or settle an estate: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed and the probate forms. Prepare each form for Vermont.
Revocable Living Trust
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
Last Will and Testament
In Vermont, a will is signed before 214 V.S.A. § 5Verified Oct 19, 2026View source witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimony14 V.S.A. § 5Verified Oct 19, 2026View source.
Pour-Over Will
In Vermont, a pour-over will is signed before 214 V.S.A. § 5Verified Oct 19, 2026View source witnesses and moves anything left outside the trust into it through probate.
Tools for Planning and Settling an Estate in Vermont
Free calculators and checklists to plan or settle an estate in Vermont: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay and taxes. Run each tool for Vermont.
How Much Are Estate & Inheritance Taxes?
Vermont levies an estate tax32 V.S.A. § 7442aVerified Sep 15, 2026View source above $5,000,00032 V.S.A. § 7442aVerified Sep 15, 2026View source (top rate 16%32 V.S.A. § 7442aVerified Sep 15, 2026View source) and no inheritance tax; the federal estate tax applies above $15,000,00026 USC 2001(c), 2010; P.L. 119-21 §70106Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
What Taxes Apply to My Inheritance?
In Vermont, beneficiaries owe no inheritance tax and the estate pays any estate tax32 V.S.A. § 7442aVerified Sep 15, 2026View source above $5,000,00032 V.S.A. § 7442aVerified Sep 15, 2026View source; probate assets arrive when the estate closes, 6 months to 9 months for a simple estate.
How Does Step-Up in Basis Work?
Inherited assets in Vermont take a basis reset to fair market value on the date of death26 USC § 1014Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, and the gain on a later sale faces ordinary income tax at the state's regular rates, after the first $5,000 of gain is excluded32 V.S.A. § 5811(21)(B)(ii) (capital gains exclusion — individuals) and § 5811(28)(B)(ii) (the SAME exclusion, verbatim, for an estate or a trust)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
When Do I Have to Withdraw an Inherited IRA?
See which federal withdrawal rules apply to an inherited IRA, Roth IRA, or employer plan, the deadline year, and the missed-withdrawal tax.
What Does Estate Planning Actually Cost?
An attorney-prepared revocable trust in Vermont runs $2,400Estimate: 10 hours at $240, Clio's Vermont Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $3,600Estimate: 15 hours at $240, Clio's Vermont Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source and a simple will $891Estimate: 3 hours at $297, Clio's Vermont Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $1,782Estimate: 6 hours at $297, Clio's Vermont Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
