Small Hartford firm (White River Junction mailing address) established in 2004, serving clients in Eastern Vermont and Western New Hampshire. Brooke Hague Trottier drafts wills and codicils, powers of attorney, advance directives and health care proxies, and handles estate administration alongside a real estate and business formation practice.
Chester is in Windsor County.
More Estate Law Firms in Windsor County
Springfield office opened by John Marchica in 2003; its Ludlow office was damaged in the 2023 flooding, and clients are served from Springfield until it is rebuilt. The firm offers estate planning within a general practice whose primary focus is real estate sales, purchases and family transfers, land development and land use. Its attorneys are John Marchica and Charles Peel.
Norwich practice serving the Upper Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire, started by Dan Grossman in 1982 and now managed by Markell Ripps. It prepares wills, trusts and powers of attorney, and takes executors and administrators of non-taxable estates through probate in both states, including ancillary estates for out-of-state fiduciaries.
Four-attorney Upper Valley firm with offices in White River Junction and Woodstock, taking matters in Vermont and New Hampshire. Todd Steadman, a Vermont Bar member since 1996 whose practice centers on family law, also handles estate planning and probate matters; the firm lists probate among the matters it takes through negotiation, mediation, litigation, trials and appeals.
Regional firm with Vermont offices in Burlington and Woodstock. Its estate practice takes executors through Vermont probate, from filing the will through the inventory, estate and gift tax returns and distribution, and handles trust administration and accountings. Its litigators handle will contests, removal of trustees or personal representatives and breach of fiduciary duty claims.
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.
Probate in Windsor County
Probate Court Record
Windsor County Superior Court - Probate Division
Windsor County
Phone
Hours
Office
Website
E-filing
Filing in person
Self-represented filing
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Windsor County →
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Windsor County? →Settling an estate in Windsor 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.
Healthcare Power of Attorney
Vermont requires 218 V.S.A. § 9719Verified Oct 15, 2026View source witnesses for a healthcare power of attorney; notarization is not required18 V.S.A. § 9719Verified Oct 15, 2026View source.
Financial Power of Attorney
Vermont treats a power of attorney as durable by default14 V.S.A. §§ 4004, 4005, 4006, 4007, 4009, 4013, 4019, 4020, 4031, 4047, 4051, 4052Verified Oct 21, 2026View source, and it is signed with no witness or notary requirement14 V.S.A. §§ 4004, 4005, 4006, 4007, 4009, 4013, 4019, 4020, 4031, 4047, 4051, 4052Verified Oct 21, 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.
Trust or Will: Which Costs Less?
In Vermont, a will-based plan pays probate attorney fees of typically 1.7%Modeled estimate under 14 V.S.A. § 1065 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 9, 2026View source to 2.7%Modeled estimate under 14 V.S.A. § 1065 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 9, 2026View source of the estate; a funded revocable trust keeps those assets out of probate and off that fee.
Do I Need a Revocable Trust?
Probate in Vermont takes 6 months to 9 months for a simple estate and charges attorney fees of typically 1.7%Modeled estimate under 14 V.S.A. § 1065 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 9, 2026View source to 2.7%Modeled estimate under 14 V.S.A. § 1065 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 9, 2026View source of the estate; assets held in a revocable trust skip both.
How Much Does Probate Cost?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in Vermont costs an estimated $24,56114 V.S.A. § 1065 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 9, 2026View source. Attorney fees run 1.7%Modeled estimate under 14 V.S.A. § 1065 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 9, 2026View source to 2.7%Modeled estimate under 14 V.S.A. § 1065 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 9, 2026View source of the estate under a reasonable-compensation standard.
What Are the Estate Laws in My State?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in Vermont costs an estimated $24,56114 V.S.A. § 1065 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 9, 2026View source and takes 6 months to 9 months for a simple estate, with attorney fees of typically 1.7%Modeled estimate under 14 V.S.A. § 1065 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 9, 2026View source to 2.7%Modeled estimate under 14 V.S.A. § 1065 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 9, 2026View source of the estate. Estates under $45,00014 V.S.A. § 1901Verified Sep 9, 2026View source can use a small-estate procedure instead.
How Do I Settle an Estate?
Settling an estate in Vermont: the personal representative files the estate inventory within 60 days14 V.S.A. §§ 1051-1053Verified Sep 15, 2026View source of appointment; creditors have 4 months14 V.S.A. §§ 1201-1207Verified Oct 19, 2026View source to present claims; a simple estate closes in 6 months to 9 months.
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.
