Vermont Will Signing Day Kit: Vermont's Witness and Notary Rules, Signing-Day Checklist, Witness Sheet and Original-Will Record

Who it is for

Anyone signing a will in Vermont, and the family member, friend or office helping set up the signing. Who can make a will, per the official page: 18 or older, or emancipated by court order, and of sound mind.

Not the right fit if

The person signing isn't in Vermont, you still need the will written (that's a lawyer's job), or someone may contest it. Not a will form or a legal service.

Why it is different

• Built only from our Vermont will signing data file, checked November 2026 against Vermont Statutes Title 14, Chapter 1, Wills (Vermont Legislature); 14 V.S.A. 108, Self-proved wills (Vermont Legislature); Nolo (secondary source): How to Make a Will in Vermont (Nolo, updated August 2024); 14 V.S.A. 5, Execution of will; requisites (Vermont Legislature).
• All 7 Vermont facts are confirmed: on an official page, or where none could be read, on a vetted secondary source marked as such.
• Sources: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/fullchapter/14/001 https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/14/003/00108 https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/vermont-make-will-31659.html https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/14/001/00005
• For the estate side in Vermont, the Vermont Executor and Estate Kit: An estate of not more than $45,000 consisting entirely of personal property (a time-share is allowed).

What is inside

• Start here. The 7 confirmed Vermont facts at a glance.
• Vermont signing-day checklist. Bring 2 witnesses. The rule: Two or more witnesses, who sign in the presence of the testator and each other. Pick witnesses who get nothing under the will and aren't married to someone who does. If a beneficiary would have to witness, stop and call the lawyer first: A gift to a witness, or to a witness's spouse, can be undone unless two other competent witnesses signed. Have a notary there for the self-proving affidavit. The official page we read names a notary public. Allowed. The testator and witnesses make a sworn acknowledgment before a notary public or other official authorized to administer oaths where the will is signed. The rule here: A gift to a witness, or to a witness's spouse, can be undone unless two other competent witnesses signed. The testator signs (or acknowledges the signature) while the witnesses watch, then each witness signs.
• Witness information sheet. One block per Vermont witness (2 required, plus a spare).
• Original-will storage and location record. Where the original is and who has copies. Handwritten wills in Vermont: Not recognized unless witnessed: a will must be signed in front of two or more credible witnesses, who sign in front of the testator and each other (14 V.S.A. 5). The section makes no exception for handwritten wills.
• Vermont will signing tracker (Excel). Steps, ID, copies and review dates. Remote witnessing in Vermont: Only for a will signed under the state's emergency rules for remote notarial acts, while those rules are in effect. Then witnesses count as present without being in the room. Electronic wills: Not authorized, per Nolo's Vermont page (updated August 2024); the will has to be on paper.