Joint Tenancy and Tenancy by the Entirety in Vermont

How you hold title to property in Vermont directly determines what happens to it when you die — whether it skips probate entirely or gets pulled into a six-to-eighteen-month court process.

Vermont is a common-law, equitable distribution state. It does not use community property rules. But the way you title real estate and financial accounts creates dramatically different outcomes at death.

The Three Types of Co-Ownership

Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship

When two or more people own property as joint tenants, each person owns an equal, undivided share. When one owner dies, their share automatically passes to the surviving owner(s) — no probate, no will provision, no court involvement.

This right of survivorship is the key feature. It overrides your will. If your will leaves your half of a jointly owned home to your daughter, but the deed says "joint tenants with right of survivorship," your co-owner inherits automatically. The will provision is irrelevant.

Creating joint tenancy in Vermont: The deed must explicitly state "as joint tenants with right of survivorship" or similar clear language. Vermont does not presume joint tenancy — without survivorship language, co-owners default to tenants in common.

Breaking joint tenancy: Any joint tenant can unilaterally sever the joint tenancy by conveying their interest to a third party (or to themselves as a tenant in common). This converts the ownership to a tenancy in common, destroying the survivorship right. The other joint tenant does not need to consent or even be notified.

Tenancy by the Entirety

This is joint tenancy exclusively for married couples. Both spouses own the entire property — neither owns a divisible share. It carries the same automatic right of survivorship as joint tenancy, but with one critical additional protection: neither spouse can sever the tenancy or convey their interest without the other spouse's consent.

This means a creditor of one spouse generally cannot force a sale of property held as tenants by the entirety. The property is shielded from individual creditor claims while both spouses are alive.

In Vermont, when married couples purchase real estate together, the deed may create a tenancy by the entirety if the intent is clear. After divorce, the tenancy by the entirety automatically converts to a tenancy in common — the survivorship right disappears.

Tenancy in Common

Each owner holds a distinct, transferable share — not necessarily equal. There is no right of survivorship. When a tenant in common dies, their share passes through their will or through Vermont's intestate succession laws, subject to full probate administration.

This is the default in Vermont. If a deed simply says two names without specifying the type of ownership, the law presumes tenancy in common.

Moving to Vermont from a Community Property State

If you are relocating from a community property state (Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, or Wisconsin), your property's character does not automatically change.

Under 9 V.S.A. § 4352, property that was community property in your former state retains its community property character in Vermont unless you affirmatively retitle it. This has significant tax implications: community property receives a full double step-up in basis at the first spouse's death (both halves get stepped up to fair market value), while Vermont common-law property only steps up the deceased spouse's share.

If you moved from California to Vermont and still hold assets titled as community property, consult a tax professional before retitling. You may want to preserve the community property character for the basis step-up advantage.

Which Ownership Type Should You Choose?

For real property, changing the ownership type requires recording a new deed with the town clerk in the municipality where the property is located. Vermont's decentralized land records mean there is no county-level registry — every filing happens at the local town clerk's office, with recording fees of approximately $15 per page plus a Property Transfer Tax Return.

The Vermont Basic Estate Planning Kit includes guidance on choosing the right property ownership structure and coordinating it with your will, beneficiary designations, and other non-probate transfers.

See more Vermont guides →