Franklin County Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Married Couple as Grantors) Form

Last validated August 19, 2026 by our Forms Development Team

Franklin County Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Married Couple as Grantors) Form

Franklin County Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Married Couple as Grantors) Form

Fill in the blank Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Married Couple as Grantors) form formatted to comply with all Vermont recording and content requirements.

Document Last Validated 8/19/2026
Franklin County Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Married Couple as Grantors) Guide

Franklin County Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Married Couple as Grantors) Guide

Line by line guide explaining every blank on the Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Married Couple as Grantors) form.

Document Last Validated 7/16/2026
Franklin County Completed Example of the Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Married Couple as Grantors) Document

Franklin County Completed Example of the Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Married Couple as Grantors) Document

Example of a properly completed Vermont Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Married Couple as Grantors) document for reference.

Document Last Validated 8/6/2026

All 3 documents above included • One-time purchase • No recurring fees

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Important: Your property must be located in Franklin County to use these forms. Documents should be recorded at the office below.

Where to Record Your Documents

Town Clerk of Bakersfield

Address:
40 E Bakersfield Rd / PO Box 203
Bakersfield, Vermont 05441

Hours: M - F 9:00 to 12:00 & 7:00 to 8:00

Phone: (802) 827-4495

Town Clerk of Berkshire

Address:
4454 Watertower Rd
Enosburgh, Vermont 05450

Hours: M & Tu 8-12, 1-5; W & Th 9-12, 1-4

Phone: (802) 933-2335

Town Clerk of Enosburgh

Address:
239 Main St / PO Box 465
Enosburgh Falls, Vermont 05450

Hours: M - F 8:00 to 3:30

Phone: (802) 933-4421

Town Clerk of Fairfax

Address:
12 Buck Hollow Rd
Fairfax, Vermont 05454

Hours: M - F 9:00 to 4:00; 1st & 3rd Mon 6:00 to 8:00

Phone: (802) 849-6111

Town Clerk of Fairfield

Address:
25 North Rd / PO Box 5
Fairfield, Vermont 05455

Hours: M, Tu, Th, F 8:00 to 3:00; W 10:30 to 5:30

Phone: (802) 827-3261 x1

Town Clerk of Fletcher

Address:
215 Cambridge Rd
Cambridge, Vermont 05444

Hours: M 8 - 3:30 & 6:30 - 8:30; Tu - Th 8 to 3:30

Phone: (802) 849-6616

Town Clerk of Franklin

Address:
5167 Main St / PO Box 82
Franklin, Vermont 05457

Hours: M, Tu, F 8:30 to 3:30; W 8:30 to noon; Th 8:30 to 6:00

Phone: (802) 285-2101

Town Clerk of Georgia

Address:
47 Town Common Rd N
St. Albans, Vermont 05478

Hours: M-F 8:00 - 4:00

Phone: (802) 524-3524

Town Clerk of Highgate

Address:
2996 VT Route 78 / PO Box 189
Highgate Ctr, Vermont 05459

Hours: M-F 8:30 to 12 & 1:00 to 4:30

Phone: (802) 868-4697 X201

Town Clerk of Montgomery

Address:
98 Main St / PO Box 356
Montgomery, Vermont 05471

Hours: M 8-12 & 1-6; Tu, Th, F 8-12 & 1-4

Phone: (802) 326-4719

Town Clerk of Richford

Address:
94 Main St / PO Box 236
Richford, Vermont 05476

Hours: M - Th 8:00 - 5:00; F 8:00 - noon

Phone: (802) 848-7751 x3

City of St. Albans Clerk

Address:
100 N Main St / PO Box 867
St. Albans, Vermont 05478-0867

Hours: M-F 7:30 - 4:30; last Sat 9:00 - 12:00

Phone: (802) 524-1501 x264

Town of St. Albans Clerk

Address:
579 Lake Rd, St. Albans Town / PO Box 37
St. Albans Bay, Vermont 05481

Hours: M-F 8:00 - 4:00

Phone: (802) 524-2415

Town Clerk of Sheldon

Address:
1640 Main St / PO Box 66
Sheldon, Vermont 05483

Hours: M 8:00 to 6:00 & Tu-F 8:00 to 3:00

Phone: (802) 933-2524 x3

Town Clerk of Swanton

Address:
1 Academy St / PO Box 711
Swanton, Vermont 05488

Hours: M-F 7:00 to 5:00

Phone: (802) 868-4421

Recording Tips for Franklin County:
  • Verify all names are spelled correctly before recording
  • Documents must be on 8.5 x 11 inch white paper
  • Recorded documents become public record - avoid including SSNs
  • Check margin requirements - usually 1-2 inches at top
  • Multi-page documents may require additional fees per page

Cities and Jurisdictions in Franklin County

Properties in any of these areas use Franklin County forms:

  • Bakersfield
  • East Berkshire
  • East Fairfield
  • Enosburg Falls
  • Fairfield
  • Franklin
  • Highgate Center
  • Highgate Springs
  • Montgomery
  • Montgomery Center
  • Richford
  • Saint Albans
  • Saint Albans Bay
  • Sheldon
  • Sheldon Springs
  • Swanton

View Complete Recorder Office Guide

Hours, fees, requirements, and more for Franklin County

How do I get my forms?

Forms are available for immediate download after payment. The Franklin County forms will be in your account ready to download to your computer. An account is created for you during checkout if you don't have one. Forms are NOT emailed.

Are these forms guaranteed to be recordable in Franklin County?

Yes. Our form blanks are guaranteed to meet or exceed the applicable formatting requirements used for recording in Franklin County, including margin requirements, font requirements, and other layout standards. This guarantee applies to formatting, not to the legal sufficiency of information entered by the user or the suitability of a form for a particular transaction.

Can I reuse these forms?

Yes. You can reuse the forms for your personal use. For example, if you have multiple properties in Franklin County you only need to order once.

What do I need to use these forms?

The forms are PDFs that you fill out on your computer. You'll need Adobe Reader (free software that most computers already have). You do NOT enter your property information online - you download the blank forms and complete them privately on your own computer.

Are there any recurring fees?

No. This is a one-time purchase. Nothing to cancel, no memberships, no recurring fees.

How much does it cost to record in Franklin County?

Recording fees in Franklin County vary. Contact the recorder's office at (802) 827-4495 for current fees.

Questions answered? Let's get started!

Two Vermont spouses can sign one deed that names who receives their home after both of them are gone, while keeping every meaningful right of ownership for as long as either of them lives. This Vermont Enhanced Life Estate Deed is set up for that exact configuration: a married couple as grantors, both signing, with the reserved rights running to the couple and then to the surviving spouse alone.

A deed that waits for the second death

Vermont wrote the enhanced life estate deed, often searched as a lady bird deed or ELE deed, into statute in 2020 as chapter 6 of Title 27, the Enhanced Life Estate Deed Act. The grantees named in the deed take only a contingent remainder: no present interest, nothing their creditors can reach, and nothing they can sell while a grantor lives; a transfer that attempts to convey the contingent remainder early is void by statute. If the couple never conveys the property away, title vests in the grantees at the surviving spouse's death, outside probate and subject to whatever encumbrances are then of record.

Until then, the statute keeps the owners in charge. A validly executed and recorded ELE deed does not affect the grantors' ownership rights, and the grantors may sell, mortgage, lease, gift, or otherwise convey the property with no joinder by, consent from, or notice to the grantees. Recording a new deed changes the plan: a deed from the grantors back to themselves revokes, and a new enhanced life estate deed naming all intended grantees revises and supersedes the earlier one.

The married couple configuration

The form recites exactly two grantors who are married to each other, and it states that each spouse joins in the execution and acknowledgment of the deed, the joinder Vermont's homestead and tenancy by the entirety statutes describe for property spouses hold together. The reserved rights clause follows the statutory form's plural wording: the grantors, or the survivor of them, reserve a common law life estate with exclusive use, possession, and enjoyment, plus the right to convey. After the first death, that whole bundle belongs to the surviving spouse alone, and the grantees still hold nothing vested until the second death. Two signature blocks and an acknowledgment certificate for each spouse carry the execution, so the spouses may acknowledge together or on different dates. A sole owner's deed, and a deed for co-owners who are not married to each other, recite different grantor patterns than this one.

Statutory language, Vermont recording

The deed follows the optional statutory form in 27 V.S.A. Section 660, from the granting words GIVE, GRANT, SELL, CONVEY, AND CONFIRM through the reserved rights clause, the habendum, and the statutory covenants, with the property description, source of title, and nature of tenancy collected in numbered sections. The nature of tenancy entry states how multiple grantees hold title when it vests, and the statute supplies default outcomes when a grantee dies before the grantors, one rule for tenants in common and another for joint tenants.

Vermont records deeds with the clerk of the town or city where the land lies; there is no county recording system. The clerk charges the statewide fifteen dollars per page and, by statute, cannot record the deed unless a completed Vermont Property Transfer Tax Return, Form PTT-172, and the required Act 250 certificate come with it. An executed and recorded enhanced life estate deed is subject to the property transfer tax even where the conveyance is without consideration, and the tax statutes include a refund petition when a taxed ELE interest is later revoked or revised. The guide included with this form walks through the return, the rates and exemptions, and the town recording steps.

What is in the download

The package contains the blank deed as a fillable PDF, a completed example showing the whole document filled in for a realistic Chittenden County fact pattern, and a plain language guide that covers each numbered section, the vesting choices for the grantees, signing before the notary, and recording at the town clerk's office. The materials are informational and are not legal advice; a Vermont attorney can apply chapter 6 to a specific title or estate plan.

Important: Your property must be located in Franklin County to use these forms. Documents should be recorded at the office below.

This Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Married Couple as Grantors) meets all recording requirements specific to Franklin County.

Our Promise

The documents you receive here are guaranteed to meet or exceed the applicable Franklin County recording format requirements. If there is a rejection caused by our formatting, we will correct the issue or refund your payment. This guarantee applies to document formatting only and does not extend to information entered by the user, the selection of the form, or the legal effect of the completed document.

Save Time and Money

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