Product Description

Recent updates:

• Update: October 2025

  Dear Subscriber:

  Thank you for updating your library with the latest edition of A Practical Guide to Estate Planning in Vermont. This newly revised publication brings updated resources within your immediate reach—for fast, accurate, and practical answers to your questions in this highly challenging area of practice.

  Highlights from the issues addressed in the 2025 edition include

  • the role of artificial intelligence in estate planning practice and related ethical challenges;

  • the willingness of the Vermont probate courts to maintain a will on file for a small fee;

  • a Vermont Supreme Court decision on an attorney's commingling of funds and his failure to promptly return the undisputed portion of the client's retainer;

  • the enactment on July 4, 2025, of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), with substantial implications for fed-eral estate, gift, and generation-skipping tax exemptions;

  • application of the deceased spouse unused exclusion (DSUE);

  • valuation of life insurance policies for gift tax purposes;

  • gift tax issues related to irrevocable trusts;

  • a discussion of the 2023 enactment of the Vermont Uniform Power of Attorney Act (UPOAA), including creation of powers of attorney, the scope of the agent's authority, and the general and specific powers that may be conferred by the instrument;

  • a discussion of Vermont's recent enactment of the Uniform Directed Trust Act; and

  • a discussion of Vermont's recent enactment of the Uniform Trust Decanting Act.

  We trust you will find this updated version of A Practical Guide to Estate Planning in Vermont an invaluable resource for your practice.

  Very truly yours,

  John M. Lawlor, Esq., MCLE Publications Attorney

Table of Contents

Chapter 01 expand

Ethical Considerations in Handling an Estate Plan and Engagement

Buy Chapter

Daphne Moritz, Esq., Sheehey Furlong & Behm, PC

Exhibit 1A

- Reminder Letter to Client Regarding Review of Estate Planning Documents Buy Form

Exhibit 1B

- Excerpt from “Representing Clients with Diminished Capacity,” by Constance V. Vecchione, Esq. Buy Form

Exhibit 1C

- Record of Services to Be Provided to Client Buy Form

Exhibit 1D

- Confidential Client Data Request Buy Form

Exhibit 1E

- Estate Planning Summary Letter Buy Form

Exhibit 1F

- Execution Procedure for Durable Powers of Attorney and Advance Directives Buy Form

Exhibit 1G

- Family Discussion Checklist Buy Form

Exhibit 1H

- Legal Fees and Billing—Information for Client Buy Form

Exhibit 1I

- Estate Planning Documents—Letter to Client Buy Form

Chapter 02 expand

Estate, Gift, and Generation-Skipping Transfer Taxes

Buy Chapter

Steven E. Schindler, Esq., Schindler Law Office, PLC

Chapter 03 expand

Fundamental Estate Planning

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Jeanne C. Blackmore, Esq., Trust Company of Vermont
Livia K. DeMarchis, Esq, Trust Company of Vermont

Exhibit 3A

- Sample Will Buy Form

Exhibit 3B

- Revocable Inter Vivos Trust Buy Form

Exhibit 3C

- Approval of Trust Agreement by Spouse Buy Form

Exhibit 3D

- Pour-Over Will Provision: Pour-Over Residue to Own Trust Buy Form

Chapter 04 expand

Marital Deduction Planning and Drafting Techniques

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Mark A. Langan, Esq., Dinse

Chapter 05 expand

Advance Directives and Powers of Attorney for Financial Matters

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Launa L. Slater, Esq., Wiener & Slater Law Offices PLLC

Exhibit 5A

- Advance Directive for Health Care (Vermont Ethics Network) Buy Form

Exhibit 5B

- Advance Directive for Health Care (Disability Rights Vermont) Buy Form

Exhibit 5C

- Statutory Form Power of Attorney, 14 V.S.A. § 4051 Buy Form

Exhibit 5D

- Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney for Real Estate Transactions, 14 V.S.A. § 4052 Buy Form

Exhibit 5E

- Agent’s Certification, 14 V.S.A. § 4053 Buy Form

Chapter 06 expand

Special Needs Planning

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James A. Caffry, Esq., Caffry & Keating PLLC
Glenn A. Jarrett, Esq., Jarrett & Luitjens PLC

Exhibit 6A

- Comparison of Three Social Security Programs Buy Form

Exhibit 6B

- Trust Provisions for Distribution Plans and Standards Buy Form

Exhibit 6C

- Examples of Permissible Distributions Buy Form

Exhibit 6D

- Self-Settled Special Needs Trust Requirement to Reimburse Medicaid (“Medicaid Payback” Provision) Buy Form

Exhibit 6E

- Vermont Pooled Trust Program as of August 2023 Buy Form

Exhibit 6F

- Sample Trust Protector Provisions to Plan for Unanticipated Changes in the Law or Circumstances Buy Form

Exhibit 6G

- Sample Preamble and Introductory Paragraphs Buy Form

Chapter 07 expand

Marital Agreements

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Juliana E. Hoyt, Esq., Jarrett Hoyt

Checklist 7.1

- Prenuptial Agreement Checklist Buy Form

Checklist 7.2

- Postnuptial Agreement Checklist Buy Form

Checklist 7.3

- Separation Agreement Checklist Buy Form

Chapter 08 expand

Vermont Trust Code

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Christopher M. Daudelin, Unsworth LaPlante PLLC
Wendy Hillmuth, Esq., Unsworth LaPlante PLLC
Ellen B. LaPlante, Esq., Unsworth LaPlante PLLC

Chapter 09 expand

The Uniform Principal and Income Act and the Unitrust Election

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Mark A. Langan, Esq., Dinse

Chapter 10 expand

Postmortem Estate Planning

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Hon. Jeffrey P. Kilgore,

Chapter 11 expand

Life Insurance and Estate Planning

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Aaron J. Goldberg, Esq.,

Exhibit 11A

- Supplemental Materials Buy Form

Exhibit 11B

- Information on Life Insurance Excerpted from the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation Website Buy Form

Exhibit 11C

- Disclosure Relating to Insurance in Engagement Letter Buy Form

Editor(s)

Author(s)