Vermont Gift Deed (Individual)

One grantor, no purchase price. This Vermont gift deed conveys real property from a single owner to a named recipient for love and affection, without monetary consideration, and it states that donative character on its face. The form carries one grantor signature line, a conditional joining spouse block for Vermont's homestead rule, and a notary certificate built to Vermont's statutory contents, prepared for recording in the land records of the town or city where the property lies.

A deed that says the transfer is a gift

Vermont has no statutory gift deed form, so a deed of gift here is an ordinary conveyance under chapter 5 of Title 27, executed and recorded like any other deed: signed by the grantor, acknowledged before a notary public under 27 V.S.A. 341, and recorded with the town clerk under 27 V.S.A. 342. What distinguishes it is what the text says. This form states in a dedicated section that the conveyance is a gift, made for love and affection and without monetary consideration, and its conveyance clause passes all of the grantor's right, title, and interest without covenant or warranty of title. Because Vermont implies no covenants from a deed's operative words, the warranty posture is exactly what the deed states, and this deed states none: the grantee takes the title as it stands, subject to matters of record.

What the single grantor configuration carries

The form recites exactly one grantor. A parent passing a home to an adult child, a grandparent conveying a camp to a grandchild, and an owner making a donative transfer of a family property to one recipient present the single grantor pattern this deed recites; property held by two owners, including spouses holding as tenants by the entirety, presents a different configuration with both owners conveying. The deed collects the grantor and grantee with mailing addresses, the town and county where the land lies, the legal description with a survey reference line for the plat citation rule of 27 V.S.A. 341(b), the source of title in the town land records, and the encumbrances the grantee takes subject to. One acknowledgment certificate belongs to the grantor; a second stands ready for a joining spouse, so the two can appear before different notaries on different dates.

Homestead joinder, built into the signature page

Vermont's homestead statute, 27 V.S.A. 141, leaves a married owner's deed inoperative as to the homestead where the owner's spouse has not joined in executing and acknowledging it. The form carries a labeled joining spouse signature block and joinder language for exactly that rule; on a conveyance where the rule does not apply, the block simply stays blank. The notary certificates include printed name and commission number lines, matching the certificate contents of 26 V.S.A. 5367, and Vermont law makes the acknowledgment valid with or without an official stamp.

Recording and the transfer tax return

Vermont records deeds by municipality, and the town clerk cannot record a deed unless a completed Vermont Property Transfer Tax Return accompanies it under 32 V.S.A. 9608. Gifts get their own arithmetic: the taxable value of a gift, or of a transfer for nominal or no consideration, is the fair market value of the property, so a one dollar recital does not shrink the tax base. At the same time, 32 V.S.A. 9603(5) exempts transfers between spouses, parent and child or the child's spouse, and grandparent and grandchild or the grandchild's spouse when no actual consideration passes, which covers many family gifts outright; the return is still filed, with the exemption number entered on it. Statewide recording fees run $15 per page plus $15 for the return, and the guide walks through the rates, the exemption list, and the Act 250 certificate that travels with the return.

The download includes the gift deed as a fillable PDF, a completed example prepared start to finish on a Shelburne, Chittenden County fact pattern, and a plain language guide that explains every section, the signing formalities, and the recording package. The materials are informational and are not legal advice.