The Vermont Statutes Online
The Vermont Statutes Online does not include the actions of the 2024 session of the General Assembly. We expect them to be updated by November 1st.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
Title 14 : Decedents Estates and Fiduciary Relations
Chapter 042 : Descent and Survivors' Rights
Subchapter 002 : Survivors' Rights and Allowances
(Cite as: 14 V.S.A. § 323)-
§ 323. Written waiver of spousal rights
(a) At any time before or during a marriage, a spouse may waive the right to an elective share of a deceased spouse’s estate, waive the right to a homestead or other allowance, and waive any other spousal rights or interest in property, in whole or in part, by a written instrument signed by the waiving spouse.
(b) A written waiver of spousal rights is presumed to be valid unless the party contesting the waiver demonstrates that:
(1) the waiver was not voluntary, or was made as a result of fraud, duress, or coercion;
(2) the waiver was unconscionable when signed or is unconscionable in its application due to a material change in circumstances that arose subsequent to the execution of the instrument through no fault or no action of the contesting party;
(3) before signing the waiver, the waiving spouse was not provided fair and reasonable disclosure of the property and financial obligations of the decedent; or
(4) before signing the waiver, the waiving spouse did not have an opportunity for meaningful access to independent counsel.
(c) A waiver under this section may be signed on behalf of a waiving spouse by a guardian or by an agent or an attorney-in-fact under a power of attorney that:
(1) expressly grants the authority to make the election; or
(2)(A) grants the agent or attorney-in-fact the authority to act in the management and disposition of the principal’s property that is as broad or comprehensive as the principal could exercise for himself or herself; and
(B) does not expressly exclude the authority to make the election.
(d) An agent or attorney-in-fact may petition the Probate Division of the Superior Court to determine whether a power of attorney described in subdivision (c)(2) grants the agent or attorney-in-fact authority that is as broad or comprehensive as that which the principal could exercise for himself or herself. (Added 2017, No. 195 (Adj. Sess.), § 3.)
