At a glance
| TOD / beneficiary deed | Not available |
|---|---|
| Instrument | None — not available for real property |
| Governing law | No TOD-deed statute — Vermont uses a statutory enhanced life estate deed instead |
| Community-property state | No |
Why Vermont has no TOD deed
Vermont has not adopted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act and has no transfer-on-death (beneficiary) deed statute for real property. An owner cannot record a deed that simply names a beneficiary to receive Vermont real estate automatically at death the way TOD-deed states allow.
Vermont does, however, authorize a distinct instrument by statute: the enhanced life estate deed ("ELE deed," often called a Lady Bird deed), codified at 27 V.S.A. Chapter 6, §§ 651–660, effective July 13, 2020. Under an ELE deed the grantor conveys a remainder while expressly reserving a life estate and the right to sell, mortgage, or convey the property during life, so the remainder beneficiary takes only what is left at death and cannot block the owner's lifetime dealings. This is a different mechanism from a TOD deed, and its formalities are set by that chapter rather than by any TOD-deed act.
This is educational information, not legal advice. Because Vermont routes lifetime-controlled, death-effective transfers of real property through the enhanced life estate deed rather than a TOD deed, an attorney licensed in Vermont should confirm the right instrument and its formalities for a given plan.
What to use instead
Because Vermont offers no transfer-on-death deed, families keep a home out of probate with other tools. Common alternatives include:
- Enhanced life estate (Lady Bird) deed — 27 V.S.A. ch. 6
- Revocable living trust
- Tenancy by the entirety or joint tenancy with right of survivorship
Mortgages, Medicaid & community property
Existing mortgages and liens
Because Vermont offers no TOD deed, this note applies to the enhanced life estate deed it does recognize: the remainder beneficiary takes the property subject to all mortgages, liens, and encumbrances outstanding at the grantor's death, and the grantor's reserved right to mortgage or sell during life means new encumbrances can attach up to the moment of death.
Medicaid estate recovery
Vermont real property is often held through an enhanced life estate deed precisely for Medicaid-related planning, but the interaction with Medicaid estate recovery is fact-specific and can change. Vermont's recovery reaches assets in the recoverable estate as the Department of Vermont Health Access defines it, so anyone counting on an ELE deed to shield a home should confirm the current recovery treatment with DVHA before relying on it.
Community property
Vermont is a common-law (separate-property) state. Vermont is a common-law (separate-property) state, not a community-property state. Spouses own property according to title, and Vermont's usual survivorship tool for a married couple is tenancy by the entirety, which passes to the surviving spouse by operation of law rather than through any beneficiary deed.
Vermont is one of the few states to recognize the enhanced life estate (Lady Bird) deed by statute — the Enhanced Life Estate Deed Act, 27 V.S.A. Chapter 6, §§ 651–660, effective July 13, 2020 (2020 Acts and Resolves No. 145), which also validates qualifying ELE/Lady Bird deeds recorded before that date.
State-specific quirks
No TOD deed — don't assume the uniform act applies
Form vendors sometimes sell a "Vermont transfer-on-death deed." Vermont has not enacted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, and a document styled as a TOD deed has no statutory footing for Vermont real estate. The state's death-effective deed is the enhanced life estate deed under 27 V.S.A. Chapter 6.
Lady Bird deed is statutory, with its own rules
Unlike states where Lady Bird deeds rest only on custom, Vermont's enhanced life estate deed is defined by statute, including that the grantor reserves a life estate plus the power to convey and that a grantee may not convey the contingent remainder during the grantor's life. Following the chapter's requirements matters for the deed to work.
Where to read next
- Vermont estate & inheritance tax — whether Vermont taxes what you leave behind, and the small-estate probate ceiling, each figure cited to the statute.
- The Executor & Heir’s Guide — the probate deadlines for Vermont, cited to the controlling statute.
- Funding a revocable trust — a common way to keep many kinds of property out of probate.
- ← Back to the transfer-on-death deed comparison
Sources & methodology
Methodology & sources
We could not confirm a primary-source transfer-on-death deed statute for Vermont at the time of writing, so the availability above is flagged rather than cited — check it with the county recorder or an attorney licensed in Vermont. Where this layer does cite a statute, the citation links the controlling statute — an official legislature source where available, or a third-party codified mirror of the state code otherwise; deed-form vendors and aggregator round-ups are not cited. State property and probate law changes every legislative session; this page carries the date it was last re-verified. See our editorial standards.
This page is educational and is not legal advice. Whether a transfer-on-death deed is right for you — and whether it survives Medicaid estate recovery, a mortgage’s due-on-sale clause, or a co-owner’s survivorship right — turns on facts a general page cannot resolve. Confirm your own situation with an attorney licensed in Vermont.
Last verified July 26, 2026.