Make your own Vermont will.
Yours in about 20 minutes. Legally valid in Vermont. Free to create, or add secure online document storage with the $29/year subscription.
Is a self-written will legal in Vermont?
Yes. Vermont recognizes wills you write yourself, as long as they meet the state's signing requirements. The governing statute is 14 V.S.A. §1 et seq. (who may make a will; execution requirements at 14 V.S.A. §5).
Your will needs to be in writing, signed by you, and witnessed by 2 adults who are present at the same time. You don't need a notary for the will itself to be valid, but adding a notarized "self-proving" affidavit makes the probate process faster later (this tool generates that for you automatically).
You must be at least 18 years old and of sound mind. A minor emancipated by court order may also make a will (14 V.S.A. §1). Choose witnesses who don't inherit under your will: some states void or reduce a gift to a witness, and the exact Vermont rule is covered below. This tool walks you through the rules so you don't trip over them.
A will you write yourself has the same legal force as one drafted by an attorney, provided you follow the signing rules. Courts admit self-written wills to probate every day. An attorney's value is in advising on complex estates, not in drafting the document itself.
What it costs to make a will in Vermont
A Vermont estate-planning attorney typically charges $300 to $600 for a simple will, and $1,000 to $1,500 for a will-plus-revocable-trust package. Rates run higher in dense metros and lower in rural areas. Most attorneys bill at $250 to $400 per hour and need one or two meetings to draft a basic will.
You can also write a will entirely from scratch with a sheet of paper and a pen, with no software at all. Vermont requires the same 2-witness signing process regardless of who drafts the document. The risk with a from-scratch will is technical: a missing self-proving affidavit, a witness who's also a beneficiary, or wording that creates ambiguity for the probate court. That's what this tool prevents.
Will.com is free at the document level. The $29/year subscription adds cloud-stored, zero-knowledge-encrypted access so you can edit and update your plan as life changes.
Vermont will requirements at a glance
How it works
- 1
Answer a few questions
About you, your family, and what you own.
- 2
Download your will
A complete, personalized document, formatted for Vermont courts.
- 3
Sign with witnesses
Print and sign in front of 2 adult witnesses. Keep the signed copy somewhere safe.
When you might want an attorney instead
An online will works for most people. It's the right tool when your situation is straightforward: you want to leave your assets to family or friends, you don't have complex tax issues, and you're not anticipating a fight over your estate.
Consider hiring an attorney if any of these apply:
- Your estate is large enough to trigger federal estate tax (over $15 million in 2026) or Vermont estate or inheritance tax.
- You own a business, complex investments, or assets in multiple states or countries.
- You're in a blended family, especially if you want to leave assets to a current spouse while protecting children from a prior relationship.
- You have a child or beneficiary with special needs and want a supplemental-needs trust that won't disqualify them from public benefits.
- You expect someone to contest the will, or you're disinheriting a close family member.
- You have substantial retirement accounts and want sophisticated beneficiary planning.
If none of these apply, an online will is genuinely fine. The legal validity of your will doesn't depend on who drafted it, only on whether Vermont's signing rules were followed.
Self-proving affidavit in Vermont
Vermont recognizes self-proving affidavits. Will.com attaches one to your will: a short statement your witnesses sign in front of a notary, swearing to what they saw when you signed. See 14 V.S.A. §108.
A self-proven will skips the requirement to track down witnesses years later for the probate court. It's optional, but adding the affidavit at signing time saves your executor work. Will.com generates the affidavit alongside the will.
Who can witness your will in Vermont
Under 14 V.S.A. §10, a witness need not be disinterested for the will to be valid, but any beneficial devise or legacy to a subscribing witness (or to that witness's spouse) is voidable unless two other competent subscribing witnesses sign. A creditor-witness is not disqualified by a will provision directing payment of a debt.
Family changes after you sign
A child born or adopted after the will. A child who arrives after you sign, and who isn't named or accounted for in the will, is covered by Vermont law rather than by your wishes. The safest practice is to update your will when your family changes.
14 V.S.A. §332: a child born after the will is executed takes an intestate share unless the will makes provision for that child or shows the testator's intent not to provide for the child; 14 V.S.A. §333: a child (or descendants of a deceased child) omitted from the will by mistake or accident takes the same share as if the testator had died intestate.
A spouse you married after signing. Updating the will after marriage avoids relying on whatever Vermont law provides by default.
Vermont has no UPC §2-301-style omitted-spouse default that automatically gives a spouse omitted from a premarital will an intestate share. A surviving spouse's protections instead run through four separate rules. The elective share is one-half of the balance of the probate estate after allowances, claims, and expenses (14 V.S.A. §319(a)). The homestead passes to and vests in the surviving spouse without being subject to the deceased spouse's debts, unless legally charged on the homestead during that spouse's lifetime, up to the $125,000.00 value the homestead exemption sets (27 V.S.A. §§101 and 105, as amended by 2023 No. 6, effective July 1, 2023). The Probate Division sets the homestead out to the surviving spouse. There is also a support allowance during administration (14 V.S.A. §316) and the household furnishings and furniture (14 V.S.A. §312). After a divorce or dissolution, a gift by will to the former spouse and any nomination of that spouse as executor, trustee, guardian, or other fiduciary is nullified unless the will specifically states otherwise (14 V.S.A. §320). A spouse may waive the elective share, the homestead, any allowance, and any other spousal right in writing (14 V.S.A. §323).
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