Orleans County Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Trustee Grantee) Form

Last validated July 16, 2026 by our Forms Development Team

Orleans County Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Trustee Grantee) Form

Orleans 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
Orleans County Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Trustee Grantee) Guide

Orleans 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
Orleans County Completed Example of the Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Trustee Grantee) Document

Orleans 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 Orleans County to use these forms. Documents should be recorded at the office below.

Where to Record Your Documents

Town Clerk of Albany

Address:
827 Main St / PO Box 284
Albany, Vermont 05820

Hours: Tu & Th 9:00 to 4:00; We 9:00 to 7:00

Phone: (802) 755-6100

Town Clerk of Barton

Address:
34 Main St
Barton, Vermont 05822

Hours: M - Th 7:30 to 4:00 & Fr 7:30 to noon

Phone: (802) 525-6222

Town Clerk of Brownington

Address:
622 Schoolhouse Rd, Brownington / PO Box 66
Orleans, Vermont 05860

Hours: Mo-Th 9:00 to 4:00

Phone: (802) 754-8401

Town Clerk of Charleston

Address:
5063 VT Rte 105
West Charleston, Vermont 05872

Hours: M, Tu & Th 8:00 to 3:00

Phone: (802) 895-2814

Town Clerk of Coventry

Address:
168 Main St / PO Box 104
Coventry, Vermont 05825

Hours: M, Tu, Th, F 8:00 to 12:00; W 4:00 to 7:00; 3rd Sat 9:00 to 2:00

Phone: (802) 754-2288

Town Clerk of Craftsbury

Address:
85 S Craftsbury Rd / PO Box 55
Craftsbury, Vermont 05826

Hours: Tu - Fr 8:30 to 4:00

Phone: (802) 586-2823

Town Clerk of Derby

Address:
124 Main St
Derby, Vermont 05829

Hours: Mo - Th 7:00 to 5:00

Phone: (802) 766-4906

Town Clerk of Glover

Address:
51 Bean Hill
Glover, Vermont 05839

Hours: M - Th 8:00 to 4:00

Phone: (802) 525-6227

Town Clerk of Greensboro

Address:
81 Laurendon Ave / PO Box 119
Greensboro, Vermont 05841

Hours: Mo - Th 9:00 to 4:00

Phone: (802) 533-2911

Town Clerk of Holland

Address:
120 School Rd, Holland
Derby Line, Vermont 05830-8961

Hours: Mo, Tu, Th 8:00 to 4:30

Phone: (802) 895-4440

Town Clerk of Irasburg

Address:
161 Route 58 East / PO Box 51
Irasburg, Vermont 05845

Hours: Mo-We 9:00 to 3:00 & Th 9:00 to 6:00

Phone: (802) 754-2242

Town Clerk of Jay

Address:
1036 VT Route 242
Jay, Vermont 05859

Hours: Mo-Th 7:00 to 4:00; We until noon

Phone: (802) 988-2996

Town Clerk of Lowell

Address:
2170 VT Rte 100
Lowell, Vermont 05847

Hours: M-Th 9:00 to 2:30

Phone: (802) 744-6559

Town Clerk of Morgan

Address:
41 Meade Hill Rd / PO Box 45
Morgan, Vermont 05853

Hours: Mo & Th 8:00 to 4:00; Tu & We 8:00 to 3:00

Phone: (802) 895-2927

City of Newport: Clerk

Address:
222 Main St
Newport, Vermont 05855

Hours: Mo-Fr 8:00 to 4:30

Phone: (802) 334-2112

Town of Newport: Clerk

Address:
102 Vance Hill Rd / PO Box 85
Newport Ctr, Vermont 05857

Hours: Mo-Th 7:00 to 4:30

Phone: (802) 334-6442

Town Clerk of Troy

Address:
142 Main St
North Troy, Vermont 05859

Hours: Mo-Th 9:00 to 5:00

Phone: (802) 988-2663

Town Clerk of Westfield

Address:
38 School St
Westfield, Vermont 05874

Hours: Mo-Th 8:00 to 4:00

Phone: (802) 744-2484

Town Clerk of Westmore

Address:
54 Hinton Hill Rd
Orleans, Vermont 05860

Hours: Mo-Th 8:30 to 4:00

Phone: (802) 525-3007

Recording Tips for Orleans County:
  • Documents must be on 8.5 x 11 inch white paper
  • Bring extra funds - fees can vary by document type and page count
  • Both spouses typically need to sign if property is jointly owned

Cities and Jurisdictions in Orleans County

Properties in any of these areas use Orleans County forms:

  • Albany
  • Barton
  • Beebe Plain
  • Coventry
  • Craftsbury
  • Craftsbury Common
  • Derby
  • Derby Line
  • East Charleston
  • Glover
  • Greensboro
  • Greensboro Bend
  • Irasburg
  • Lowell
  • Morgan
  • Newport
  • Newport Center
  • North Troy
  • Orleans
  • Troy
  • West Charleston
  • West Glover
  • Westfield

View Complete Recorder Office Guide

Hours, fees, requirements, and more for Orleans County

How do I get my forms?

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

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

Recording fees in Orleans County vary. Contact the recorder's office at (802) 755-6100 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 Orleans 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 Orleans County.

Our Promise

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

4.8 out of 5 - ( 4768 Reviews )

Arthur H.

March 17th, 2022

Deeds.com was informative, quick, and complete. Found everything I needed complete with instructions and examples. Easy to use and understand. And VERY reasonably priced.

Reply from Staff

We appreciate your business and value your feedback. Thank you. Have a wonderful day!

Evelyn B.

June 23rd, 2023

Wow! Deeds.com provided proficient eRecording with great response time and great service... and it was super easy, super fast, and very reasonably priced. What more could you possibly want?! Highly recommended!

Reply from Staff

We appreciate your business and value your feedback. Thank you. Have a wonderful day!

Stephen B.

March 22nd, 2021

5 stars. Licensed to practice law for 25 years in multiple jurisdictions, the most dreaded part of doing what you already know how to do is researching again to make sure the legislatures have not changed the rules while you were doing something else. 22 bucks for this package is one hell of a deal and a real timesaver. Many thanks.

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!

Debra P.

October 7th, 2020

Looked everywhere to find what I needed. Found your website and there it was. Very pleased with the speed that I received my documents in. Will definitely keep you in my go to.

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Melinda P.

January 4th, 2020

I received my documents immediately! Thats was a huge relief!

Reply from Staff

We appreciate your business and value your feedback. Thank you. Have a wonderful day!

YAZMIN M.

March 7th, 2019

excellent

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Toni M.

June 24th, 2019

I liked having the forms. Some may need to know they can look at the legal Description from online county records, then type up in Word document line by line, the degree sign in Word program is achieved by using alt and 248 on number pad. Then on the form page one write SEE Exibit A and title your Word program description as Exibit A. Goes without saying the legal description should be looked over many times and it is easier to do so if you format your Word the same lineage as the legal description online which is usually not text which is why you have to retype it.

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!

Kathy B.

November 24th, 2020

Works easy enough and good directions on the form, however no help when I got locked out. Had to do a completely new account name and email address.

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Pamela S.

January 6th, 2021

Great experience! Instructions are very clear and thorough. The completeness of the instructions really inspired confidence. Within minutes of uploading my document, I received a message that it had been prepared and submitted to the county for recording. Makes it so simple! Well worth it.

Reply from Staff

We appreciate your business and value your feedback. Thank you. Have a wonderful day!

DENNIS M.

January 18th, 2023

very simple and complete

Reply from Staff

We appreciate your business and value your feedback. Thank you. Have a wonderful day!

A. S.

February 27th, 2019

First, I am glad that you gave a blank copy, an example copy, and a 'guide'. It made it much easier to do. Overall I was very happy with your products and organization... however, things got pretty confusing and I have a pretty 'serious' law background in Real Estate and Civil law. With that said, I spent about 10+ hours getting my work done, using the Deed of Trust and Promissory note from you and there were a few problems: First, it would be FANTASTIC if you actually aligned your guide to actually match the Deed or Promissory Note. What I mean is that if the Deed says 'section (E)' then your guide shouldn't be 'randomly' numbered as 1,2,3, for advice/instructions, but should EXACTLY match 'section (E)'. Some places you have to 'hunt' for what you are looking for, and if you did it based on my suggestion, you wouldn't need to 'hunt' and it would avoid confusion. 2nd: This one really 'hurt'... you had something called the 'Deed of Trust Master Form' yet you had basically no information on what it was or how to use it. The only information you had was a small section at the top of the 'Short Form Deed of Trust Guide'. Holy Cow, was that 'section' super confusing. I still don't know if I did it correctly, but your guide says only put a return address on it and leave the rest of the 16 or so page Deed of Trust beneath it blank... and then include your 'Deed of Trust' (I had to assume the short form deed that I had just created) as part of it. I had to assume that I had to print off the entire 17 page or so title page and blank deed. I also had to assume that the promissory note was supposed to be EXHIBIT A or B on the Short Form Deed. It would be great if someone would take a serious look at that short section in your 'Short Form Deed of Trust Guide' and realize that those of us using your products are seriously turning this into a county clerk to file and that most of us, probably already have a property that has an existing Deed... or at least can find one in the county records if necessary... and make sure that you make a distinction between the Deed for the property that already exists, versus the Deed of Trust and Promissory note that we are trying to file. Thanks.

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback. We'll have staff review the document for clarity. Have a great day!

mary s.

July 30th, 2021

It would help if pages of a document indicated 1 of 3 etc. When I downloaded the TOD guide I got a 4th page though it only showed 3 on the screen.

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!

Stuart C.

April 29th, 2019

Quit, clear, simple...just the way it shouldbe! Thank you!

Reply from Staff

We appreciate your business and value your feedback. Thank you. Have a wonderful day!

Michael M.

November 3rd, 2020

The process was very easy and walked you through the entire process step by step. Also, outstanding that you get email updates when each step is completed.

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!

Lance T. W.

August 23rd, 2019

All in all an easy, cost-effective approach to simple legal work.

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!