Title 14, Decedents Estates and Fiduciary Relations

§ 2798. Guardian may sell personalty and support ward When it is necessary or for the interest of his or her ward, the guardian shall sell his or her personal estate. Out of the proceeds, and the income of his or her real estate, if sufficient, such guardian shall pay the necessa…

§ 2800. Disputed claim may be referred When there is a disputed claim between a guardian, on behalf of the ward, and any other person, with the consent of the parties in writing the Probate Division of the Superior Court may refer it to a master as provided by the Rules of Probat…

§ 2801. Guardian may discharge mortgage; consent to sale of realty On payment to him of the sum due on a real estate mortgage, a guardian may give an acquittance or release of the claim of his ward as mortgagee or assignee under such mortgage, and may give the consent of his ward…

§ 2802. Partition of estate of which ward has an undivided interest When a ward is joint tenant or tenant in common with others, the ward’s guardian may agree with the other joint tenants or tenants in common, to make partition of the lands so held. When that agreement is made in…

§ 2803. Court may order personalty sold and proceeds invested in real estate (a) On motion of a guardian, a ward, or relative of a ward, or of a person interested in a ward’s estate, by order, the Probate Division of the Superior Court may authorize or require the guardian to sel…

§ 2804. Court may order estate paid to guardian in other state When a minor or other person having a guardian appointed by a Probate Division of the Superior Court in this State, has a guardian in another state or country, and it appears to the Probate Division of the Superior Co…

§ 2841. Limiting time for payment of debts When a ward owes debts at the time of the appointment of his or her guardian, the Probate Division of the Superior Court may allow the guardian a reasonable time, not exceeding one year, to dispose of the estate and collect the demands f…

§ 2842. Realty to be taken when personalty exhausted The personal estate of the ward shall be first used for the payment of his or her debts. If the personal estate and the income of his or her real estate are not sufficient, such expenses and debts shall be paid out of the real …

§ 2843. Claims, time for presenting limited; when barred On motion of the guardian, the Probate Division of the Superior Court may make an order requiring creditors of a ward to present their claims to the guardian for payment within a time to be limited by the court, which time …

§ 2846. Court may order dividend At the expiration of the time limited for creditors to present their claims, if it appears that the ward has not estate sufficient to pay his or her debts, the Probate Division of the Superior Court shall order the effects in the hands of the guar…

§ 2847. Allowance to guardian Before making a dividend, the court may allow to the guardian, out of the estate of the ward, a reasonable sum for his expenses in the management and settlement of the property for expenses in taking care of the person and family of the ward during t…

§ 2848. After dividend, claims barred as to guardian; exception After the dividend is made, the creditors shall have no further claim against the guardian on their demands, except where estate of the ward afterwards comes to his or her possession or knowledge. In such case, the c…

§ 2849. Claims not barred Sections 2841-2848 of this title shall not bar the claims of creditors against the ward after he or she is discharged from guardianship.

§ 2850. Ward not to be sued; action commenced before appointment may proceed A writ or execution shall not be issued against a ward for a debt while he or she is under guardianship; but actions commenced against a person before the appointment of his guardian may be prosecuted to…

§ 2881. Real estate; when may be sold The Probate Division of the Superior Court may authorize guardians to sell a part or all of the lands of their wards or the interest of such wards in real estate, vested or contingent, in the following cases: (1) when the personal estate of a…

§ 2882. Regulations under which license granted As provided in section 2881 of this title, the order of a Probate Division of the Superior Court licensing the sale of lands of wards shall be made under the following regulations: (1) On motion of the guardian for license to sell, …

§ 2883. Term of license Such license shall not continue in force more than two years.

§ 2884. Deed, effect of A deed executed by a guardian of the lands of his or her ward under such order of sale shall be valid and shall convey the interest of the ward in the lands, whether vested or contingent.

§ 2885. Guardian to report sale Within three months after a sale of real estate of his or her ward under a license, a guardian shall make report of his or her proceedings, setting forth the time and manner of sale, the person to whom and the price for which it was sold and a desc…

§ 2886. License when guardian or ward resides out of state On motion to the Probate Division of the Superior Court for an order to sell the real estate of a ward, when the sale is necessary or conducive to the interests of that person, a license may be granted as provided in this…

§ 2887. Conveyance of land that ward was under contract to convey When a person, while not under guardianship, was under contract binding in law or equity to deed lands, on motion, the Probate Division of the Superior Court may grant license to the guardian of that person to conv…

§ 2888. License not to be granted to creditors’ injury The license shall not be granted if it appears to the court that the conveyance would so reduce the assets in the hands of the guardian as to lessen the amount that creditors would receive from the estate of the ward.

§ 2889. If guardian grantee, judge to convey; deed, effect of If the contract is to convey lands to the guardian, the judge of the Probate Division shall execute the deed. Such deed, or the deed of the guardian, as the case may be, shall be as effectual to convey the lands as if …

§ 2890. Lands held in trust to be conveyed to beneficiary When a person, while not under guardianship, held lands in trust for another person, or where lands have been set off on execution to a ward on a debt in the name of the ward but being the debt of some other person, and no…

§ 2891. When guardian dies or is removed pending sale, new license If the guardian dies, resigns, or is removed before the completion of a sale of real estate under a license, within two years from the time of granting the same, the court may issue a new license to his successor …

§ 2921. Accounts, time Within one year after his or her appointment and annually thereafter and at such other times as the Probate Division of the Superior Court directs, a guardian whose ward has real or personal estate shall render and settle with the court an account of the pr…

§ 2922. By guardian of nonresident ward When a minor or other person has a guardian in this State, but resides in another state or country, and it is shown to the court that such minor or other person has a guardian in the state or country where he or she resides, and that such g…

§ 2923. Property may be ordered into hands of nonresident guardian; proceedings (a) When a guardian and ward are nonresidents and the ward is entitled to property in this State, the guardian may petition the Probate Division of the Superior Court for removal of the property. The …

§ 2924. Same; exception Section 2923 of this title shall not apply if the parent of the ward, being a resident of this State at the time of death, has appointed a guardian for the ward by last will and testament and the guardian resides in this State at the time the petition prov…

§ 2925. Guardian to swear to correctness of account The Probate Division of the Superior Court shall examine every guardian upon oath as to the truth and correctness of an account before the same is allowed by the court. However, in its discretion, the court may dispense with suc…

§ 2926. Surety may intervene as party; rights of surety Upon the settlement of a guardian’s account, any person interested as surety in respect to the account may intervene as a party to the accounting with the same rights as the surety of an administrator in like cases. (Amended…

§ 2927. Remedy, after guardian’s discharge, reexamination of accounts After the trust of a guardian is terminated, if the ward or the ward’s legal representatives are dissatisfied with the account as allowed by the Probate Division of the Superior Court during the continuance of …

§ 2928. Death of ward Whenever a person dies while under guardianship, the guardian may pay so much of the burial expenses as the guardian is able from the funds in his or her hands and make final account to the Probate Division of the Superior Court. (Amended 1985, No. 144 (Adj.…

§ 2961. Previous acts confirmed and compensation allowed, on being lawfully appointed If a person who has acted as guardian under an appointment void or voidable by reason of the incapacity of the judge or register of probate to make such appointment, shall afterwards be lawfully…

§ 2962. Good faith A person who has acted in good faith as guardian under an appointment void or voidable may render an account as guardian to the court in which the proceeding is pending. If it appears that the person accepted and acted under appointment in good faith and has ex…

§ 2963. Conveyances valid When the acts of a guardian under a void or voidable appointment are confirmed, as provided in sections 2961 and 2962 of this title, all sales of the real estate of the supposed ward previously made under a license issued by the Probate Division of the S…

§ 2964. Bond A bond given to a Probate Division of the Superior Court by a guardian under a void or voidable appointment shall be valid. If he or she is appointed guardian, as provided in section 2961 of this title, a new bond need not be required, if, in the opinion of the Proba…

§ 3001. Removal; resignation; marriage of guardian; vacancies If a guardian for a minor neglects to render an account as required by the Vermont Rules of Probate Procedure or to appear, or to perform an order or decree of the Probate Division of the Superior Court, or absconds or…

§ 3002. Minor ward’s marriage; exception The marriage of a minor under guardianship shall discharge the guardian from all right to custody and education, but not from a right to property of the ward. (Amended 1985, No. 144 (Adj. Sess.), § 151; 2009, No. 3, § 12a, eff. Sept. 1, 20…

§ 3003. Parent may move for guardian’s removal; notice When, by reason of the incapacity or unsuitableness of a parent to have the custody and education of a minor child, another person has been appointed guardian of the minor, the parent may, at any time, file a motion for the r…

§ 3004. Court may revoke Upon hearing, if the Probate Division of the Superior Court is of the opinion that the parent is then a proper person to have the care and custody of the child, it shall revoke the guardianship and order the guardian to deliver the custody of the child to…

§ 3005. Guardian refusing to give up ward, committed If the guardian does not obey the order, the court may issue a warrant directed to any sheriff or constable requiring him or her to apprehend and commit the guardian to the Commissioner of Corrections until he or she performs t…

§ 3011. Special fiduciary When a guardian fails to perform duties required by law, the Rules of Probate Procedure, or order of the court, the Probate Division of the Superior Court may suspend the guardian from further duties and appoint a special fiduciary to assume temporarily …

§ 3060. Policy Guardianship shall be utilized only as necessary to promote the well-being of the individual and to protect the individual from violations of his or her human and civil rights. It shall be designed to encourage the development and maintenance of maximum self-relian…

§ 3061. Definitions The words and phrases used in this subchapter shall be defined as follows: (1) “Person in need of guardianship” means a person who: (A) is at least 18 years of age; and (B) is unable to manage, without the supervision of a guardian, some or all aspects of his …

§ 3062. Jurisdiction; review of guardian’s actions (a) If this State has jurisdiction of a guardianship proceeding pursuant to chapter 114 of this title, then the Probate Division of the Superior Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction over the proceedings. All proceedings to det…