Vermont End of Life Planning Checklist: Every Document You Need

End-of-life planning in Vermont involves more moving pieces than most states because of several state-specific rules: no default surrogate law, COLST instead of POLST, mandatory town clerk recording for property POAs, and an aggressive estate tax with no spousal portability. Missing any one of these can create expensive, stressful gaps when your family needs clarity most.

This checklist covers every document and filing in the order they should be completed.

Healthcare Documents

1. Execute a Vermont Advance Directive Name a healthcare agent and at least one alternate. Document treatment preferences for terminal illness, permanent vegetative state, and advanced dementia. Include organ donation instructions if desired. Sign in front of two qualified adult witnesses — no notary required. Avoid using your spouse, healthcare agent, parents, siblings, children, grandchildren, or any estate beneficiary as witnesses.

2. Register with the VADR Submit a copy of your signed directive to the Vermont Advance Directive Registry through the Vermont Ethics Network. Registration is free. Upload a PDF through the online portal, or mail/fax/email a copy with the VADR Combined Registration Agreement & Change Form. Vermont hospitals can query this registry when a patient is admitted without capacity.

3. Complete a COLST/DNR Form (If Appropriate) If you want to prevent CPR, intubation, or other emergency interventions, schedule an appointment with your physician to complete the Clinician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment form. Post the signed original on your refrigerator. Consider ordering state-approved DNR jewelry from StickyJ Medical ID or MedicAlert Foundation (requires a copy of the signed COLST).

4. Distribute Copies Give copies of your advance directive to your healthcare agent, primary care physician, any specialists, and family members who should be aware of your wishes. Keep the signed original in an accessible location at home — not a bank safe deposit box.

Financial and Legal Documents

5. Execute a Durable Financial Power of Attorney Name an agent to handle bank accounts, investments, tax filings, and property transactions if you become incapacitated. Under the 2023 Uniform Power of Attorney Act, this document must be notarized to be legally valid. Include "durable" language so the authority survives your incapacity.

6. Record the Financial POA with Town Clerks If you own real property in Vermont, record your notarized financial POA in the land records of every town where you own property. Under 27 V.S.A. § 305, any deed executed through a POA is legally void unless the POA is recorded in that specific town's records. Recording costs $15 per page.

7. Review Property Titling Verify how your real estate, bank accounts, and vehicles are titled. Assets held in joint tenancy, with payable-on-death (POD) designations, or with transfer-on-death (TOD) beneficiaries bypass probate and — critically in Vermont — are protected from Medicaid estate recovery. Vermont is a probate-only recovery state.

8. Address Estate Tax Exposure Vermont imposes a flat 16% estate tax on estates exceeding $5 million. Unlike the federal system, Vermont does not allow portability of the unused exemption between spouses. If your combined marital estate approaches $5 million, consult an estate planning attorney about a credit shelter trust (bypass trust) to preserve both spouses' exemptions — protecting up to $10 million from state tax.

Storage and Access

Where to store each document:

• Advance directive original: Accessible location at home (desk drawer, file cabinet — not a safe deposit box)
• VADR registration: Online through VEN (serves as a backup accessible to hospitals)
• COLST form: On or in your refrigerator
• Financial POA: Recorded copy at the relevant town clerk(s); original kept with your agent
• Will and trust documents: With your attorney or in a fireproof home safe

Who should know where documents are:

• Your healthcare agent and financial agent
• Your spouse or partner
• At least one adult child or trusted friend
• Your primary care physician
• Your attorney (if you have one)

Periodic Review

Review and re-execute your planning documents every 3-5 years, or immediately after:

• Marriage, divorce, or death of a spouse
• Death or incapacity of a named agent
• A major medical diagnosis
• A significant change in assets
• Moving to or from Vermont (out-of-state documents may have different execution requirements)

The Vermont Advance Directive & Living Will Kit covers the healthcare and financial coordination steps with printable checklists, witness verification tools, and filing guides specific to Vermont's municipal recording system.

See more Vermont guides →