Essex County Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Trustee Grantee) Form

Last validated July 16, 2026 by our Forms Development Team

Essex County Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Trustee Grantee) Form

Essex 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.

Document Last Validated 7/16/2026
Essex County Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Trustee Grantee) Guide

Essex County Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Trustee Grantee) Guide

Line by line guide explaining every blank on the Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Trustee Grantee) form.

Document Last Validated 7/16/2026
Essex County Completed Example of the Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Trustee Grantee) Document

Essex 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.

Document Last Validated 7/16/2026

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

Immediate Download • Secure Checkout

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

Where to Record Your Documents

Unified Towns & Gores Office

Address:
233 Rt 105 in Ferdinand / Mail: PO Box 417
Island Pond, Vermont 05846

Hours: M 8:00 to 4:00 & Tu - F 8:00 to 3:00

Phone: (802) 723-5900

Town Clerk of Bloomfield

Address:
27 Schoolhouse Rd in Bloomfield / Mail: PO Box 336
North Stratford, New Hampshire 03590

Hours: Tu & Th 9:00 - 3:00 and by appointment

Phone: (802) 962-5191

Town Clerk of Brighton

Address:
49 Mill St Ext / PO Box 377
Brighton (Island Pond), Vermont 05846

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

Phone: (802) 723-4405

Town Clerk of Brunswick

Address:
994 VT Rte 102
Brunswick, Vermont 05905

Hours: M-F by appt (call first) & Th 4:00 - 6:00

Phone: (802) 962-5514

Town Clerk of Canaan

Address:
318 Christian Hill / PO Box 159
Canaan, Vermont 05903

Hours: M - F 9:00 to 3:00

Phone: (802) 266-3370

Town Clerk of Concord

Address:
374 Main St / PO Box 317
Concord, Vermont 05824

Hours: M, Th, F 9:00 to 3:00 & Tu 12:00 to 6:00

Phone: (802) 695-2220

Town Clerk of East Haven

Address:
64 Community Bldg Rd / PO Box 10
East Haven, Vermont 05837

Hours: Tu 1:00 to 6:00 & Th 8:00 to 1:00 and by appt

Phone: (802) 467-3772

Town Clerk of Granby

Address:
9005 Granby Rd / PO Box 56
Granby, Vermont 05840

Hours: by appointment

Phone: (802) 328-3611

Town Clerk of Guildhall

Address:
13 Courthouse Dr / PO Box 10
Guildhall, Vermont 05905

Hours: Tu 9:00 - 3:00 & Th. 12:00 - 6:00

Phone: (802) 676-3797

Town Clerk of Lemington

Address:
2549 River Rd (VT 102)
Lemington, Vermont 05903

Hours: Wed 2:30 - 5:30

Phone: (802) 277-4814

Town Clerk of Lunenburg

Address:
9 W Main St / PO Box 54
Lunenburg, Vermont 05906

Hours: M - F 8:30 to 12:00 & 1:00 to 3:00; Summer: closed at noon

Phone: (802) 892-5959

Town Clerk of Maidstone

Address:
508 State Rte 102 / PO Box 118
Guildhall, Vermont 05905

Hours: M & Th 9:00 - 3:00 or by appt

Phone: (802) 676-3210

Town Clerk of Norton

Address:
12 VT Route 114 E / PO Box 33
Norton, Vermont 05907

Hours: Tu 10:00 - 4:00; Th 10:00 - 12:00; F 1:00 - 5:00; last Sat/mth 10:00 - 12:00

Phone: (802) 822-9935

Town Clerk of Victory

Address:
102 Radar Rd, Victory / PO Box 609
North Concord, Vermont 05858

Hours: Tu & Th 10:00 to 3:00; other days by appt (695-3355)

Phone: (802) 328-2400

Recording Tips for Essex County:
  • Double-check legal descriptions match your existing deed
  • Ask about their eRecording option for future transactions
  • Avoid the last business day of the month when possible
  • Both spouses typically need to sign if property is jointly owned

Cities and Jurisdictions in Essex County

Properties in any of these areas use Essex County forms:

  • Averill
  • Beecher Falls
  • Canaan
  • Concord
  • East Haven
  • Gilman
  • Granby
  • Guildhall
  • Island Pond
  • Lunenburg
  • North Concord
  • Norton

View Complete Recorder Office Guide

Hours, fees, requirements, and more for Essex County

How do I get my forms?

Forms are available for immediate download after payment. The Essex 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 Essex County?

Yes. Our form blanks are guaranteed to meet or exceed the applicable formatting requirements used for recording in Essex 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 Essex 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 Essex County?

Recording fees in Essex County vary. Contact the recorder's office at (802) 723-5900 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 Essex 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 Essex County.

Our Promise

The documents you receive here are guaranteed to meet or exceed the applicable Essex 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 Essex 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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