The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 14 : Decedents Estates and Fiduciary Relations

Chapter 042 : Descent and Survivors' Rights

Subchapter 002 : Survivors' Rights and Allowances

• § 314. Share of heirs other than surviving spouse

  (a) The balance of the intestate estate not passing to the decedent’s surviving spouse under section 311 of this title passes to the decedent’s descendants by right of representation.

  (b) If there is no taker under subsection (a) of this section, the intestate estate passes in the following order:

  (1) to the decedent’s parents equally if both survive or to the surviving parent;

  (2) to the decedent’s siblings and the descendants of any deceased siblings by right of representation;

  (3) one-half of the intestate estate to the decedent’s paternal grandparents equally if they both survive or to the surviving paternal grandparent and one-half of the intestate estate to the decedent’s maternal grandparents equally if they both survive or to the surviving maternal grandparent and if decedent is survived by a grandparent, or grandparents on only one side, to that grandparent or those grandparents;

  (4) in equal shares to the next of kin in equal degree.

  (c) If property passes under this section by right of representation, the property shall be divided into as many equal shares as there are children or siblings of the decedent, as the case may be, who either survive the decedent or who predecease the decedent leaving surviving descendants. (Added 2009, No. 55, § 5, eff. June 1, 2009.)