Bennington County Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Trustee Grantee) Form
Last validated July 16, 2026 by our Forms Development Team
Bennington County Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Trustee Grantee) Form
Fill in the blank Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Trustee Grantee) form formatted to comply with all Vermont recording and content requirements.
Bennington County Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Trustee Grantee) Guide
Line by line guide explaining every blank on the Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Trustee Grantee) form.
Bennington County Completed Example of the Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Trustee Grantee) Document
Example of a properly completed Vermont Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Trustee Grantee) document for reference.
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Additional Vermont and Bennington County documents included at no extra charge:
Where to Record Your Documents
Town of Arlington Town Clerk
Arlington, Vermont 05250
Hours: Monday – Friday 9 AM to 2 PM and by appt
Phone: (802) 375-2332
Town of Bennington Town Clerk
Bennington, Vermont 05201
Hours: Monday - Friday 8AM - 5PM
Phone: (802) 442-1043
Town of Dorset Town Clerk
East Dorset, Vermont 05253
Hours: 8:00 to 4:00 M-F or by appt
Phone: (802) 362-1178 Ext 2
Bennington County Clerk (for Glastenbury)
Bennington, Vermont 05262
Hours: M-F 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Phone: (802) 447-2700
Town of Landgrove Town Clerk
Londonderry, Vermont 05148
Hours: Thurs 9am to 1pm or by appt
Phone: (802) 824-3716
Town of Manchester Town Clerk
Manchester Center, Vermont 05255
Hours: Mon-Fri 8:00 to 4:30
Phone: (802) 362-1313 x1
Town of Peru Town Clerk
Peru, Vermont 05152
Hours: Tues, Thurs 8:30am - 4:00pm
Phone: (802) 824-3065
Town of Pownal Town Clerk
Pownal, Vermont 05261
Hours: M, T, Th, F 9:30 to 4:00; Wed 9:30 to 2:00
Phone: (802) 823-7757
Town of Readsboro Town Clerk
Readsboro, Vermont 05350
Hours: M,T,Th,F 8:00 to 3:30; Wed 4:30 to 8:30
Phone: (802) 423-5405
Town of Rupert Town Clerk
West Rupert, Vermont 05776
Hours: Mon 11:00 to 7:00; Tue, Wed 12:00 to 5:00; Thu 8:30 to 3:30
Phone: (802) 394-7728
Town of Sandgate Town Clerk
Sandgate, Vermont 05250
Hours: Mon, Wed 9:30 to 12:30; Tue 9:30 to 11:30; Thu, Fri 9:30 to 12:30
Phone: (802) 375-9075
Town of Searsburg Town Clerk
Wilmington, Vermont 05363
Hours: Mon 8:00 to 4:00; Tue, Fri 8:00 to noon
Phone: (802) 464-8081
Town of Shaftsbury Town Clerk
Shaftsbury, Vermont 05262
Hours: Mon 9:00 to 4:30; Tue - Fri 9:00 to 3:00
Phone: (802) 442-4038
Town of Stamford Town Clerk
Stamford, Vermont 05352
Hours: Tue, Wed 11:00 to 3:00; Thu 11:00 to 3:00 & 7:00 to 9:00; Fri 9:00 to 1:00
Phone: (802) 694-1361
Town of Sunderland Town Clerk
Sunderland, Vermont 05252 / 05250
Hours: Mon - Thu 8:00 to 2:00
Phone: (802) 375-6106
Town of Whitingham Town Clerk
Jacksonville, Vermont 05342
Hours: M-F 9 to 2; W 5 to 7; Sat 9 to 12
Phone: (802) 368-7887
Town of Winhall Town Clerk
Bondville, Vermont 05340
Hours: Mon - Thu 7:00 to 1:00 or by appt
Phone: (802) 297-2122
Town of Woodford Town Clerk
Woodford, Vermont 05201
Hours: Call for hours or appt
Phone: (802) 442-4895
Recording Tips for Bennington County:
- Check margin requirements - usually 1-2 inches at top
- Recorded documents become public record - avoid including SSNs
- Avoid the last business day of the month when possible
Cities and Jurisdictions in Bennington County
Properties in any of these areas use Bennington County forms:
- Arlington
- Bennington
- Bondville
- Dorset
- East Arlington
- East Dorset
- Manchester
- Manchester Center
- North Bennington
- North Pownal
- Peru
- Pownal
- Readsboro
- Rupert
- Shaftsbury
- Stamford
- West Rupert
Hours, fees, requirements, and more for Bennington County
How do I get my forms?
Forms are available for immediate download after payment. The Bennington 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 Bennington County?
Yes. Our form blanks are guaranteed to meet or exceed the applicable formatting requirements used for recording in Bennington 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 Bennington 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 Bennington County?
Recording fees in Bennington County vary. Contact the recorder's office at (802) 375-2332 for current fees.
Questions answered? Let's get started!
On this Vermont enhanced life estate deed, the grantee line does not name an heir; it names a trustee. One owner conveys a contingent remainder to a named individual as trustee of an identified trust, and not individually, while reserving a common law life estate and the unrestricted right to convey the property during life. The form prepares that trustee grantee configuration under 27 V.S.A. chapter 6, the Enhanced Life Estate Deed Act, the statute behind what Vermont practice has long called a lady bird deed or Medicaid deed.
A remainder that lands in a trust, not an estate
An ordinary Vermont ELE deed sends the property to individual grantees at the owner's death. This deed sends it into a trust: if the property has not been conveyed away during life, title vests at the grantor's death in the trustee of the identified trust then serving, subject to encumbrances of record, and the trust instrument takes over from there. Probate administration of the property is bypassed, and so is the individual-grantee question of what happens when a remainder holder dies first. During the owner's life the arrangement stays dormant; 27 V.S.A. § 654 states that a validly executed and recorded ELE deed transfers no present right, title, or interest, so the property is not a trust asset while the owner lives and the owner's creditors and homestead position stay exactly as they were.
Lifetime control the statute spells out
Chapter 6 writes the reserved powers into defined mechanics. The grantor may sell, mortgage, lease, or give away the property, or any portion of it, without joinder by, consent from, agreement of, or notice to the trustee. Revoking the deed means recording a deed from the grantor back to the grantor; revising it means recording a new ELE deed naming a different or additional grantee, which supersedes and replaces the prior one. The trustee holds a contingent remainder that cannot be conveyed during the grantor's life, and the statute keeps the property clear of the grantee's creditors. The deed itself carries the § 660 statutory form language, including the operative words GIVE, GRANT, SELL, CONVEY, AND CONFIRM and the reservation of a common law life estate with exclusive use, possession, and enjoyment.
The successor trustee section
Section 658 of the Act supplies default rules when a named grantee dies before the grantor, and it opens with the words unless the ELE deed provides otherwise. This form provides otherwise. Its successor trustee section ties the remainder to the office of trustee rather than to the individual: if the named trustee dies, resigns, is removed, or otherwise stops serving before the grantor's death, the contingent remainder follows the successor trustee determined under the trust instrument, and at the grantor's death title vests in whoever then holds the office. A change of trustee inside the trust does not call for a new deed.
Signing and recording in Vermont towns
The grantor, who must be a natural person under § 653(4), signs before a notary public; the trustee does not sign, because § 655 makes the deed effective without the grantee's acceptance. The form carries a homestead joinder signature block and second acknowledgment certificate for the spouse of a married grantor, tied to the joinder statutes at 27 V.S.A. §§ 141 and 349. Recording happens at the town level, with the clerk of the town or city where the land lies, at the statewide fee of $15.00 per page, and the town clerk cannot accept the deed unless a completed Vermont Property Transfer Tax Return, Form PTT-172, comes with it. An executed and recorded ELE deed is subject to the property transfer tax, and where the deed is later revoked or revised, 32 V.S.A. § 9617(8)(B) supplies a refund petition route.
The package contains the enhanced life estate deed as a fillable PDF built for Vermont recording standards, a completed example showing every section filled in for a realistic Chittenden County fact pattern, and a plain language guide that walks through the form section by section, the notarization details, and the town recording process including the transfer tax return. The materials are informational and are not legal advice.
Important: Your property must be located in Bennington County to use these forms. Documents should be recorded at the office below.
This Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Trustee Grantee) meets all recording requirements specific to Bennington County.
Our Promise
The documents you receive here are guaranteed to meet or exceed the applicable Bennington 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
Get your Bennington County Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Trustee Grantee) form done right the first time with Deeds.com Uniform Conveyancing Blanks. At Deeds.com, we understand that your time and money are valuable resources, and we don't want you to face a penalty fee or rejection imposed by a county recorder for submitting nonstandard documents. We constantly review and update our forms to meet rapidly changing state and county recording requirements for roughly 3,500 counties and local jurisdictions.
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