The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2025 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
(Cite as: 14 V.S.A. § 1551)
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§ 1551. Person suspected of embezzlement, concealing papers, or conveying decedent’s property
(a) An executor or administrator, heir, legatee, creditor, or other person interested
in the estate of a deceased person may file a motion for discovery in the Probate
Division of the Superior Court alleging that a person is suspected of having concealed,
embezzled, or conveyed any of the deceased’s property, or has possession or knowledge
of any deed, conveyance, bond contract, or other writing that contains evidence of,
or tends to disclose, the right, title, interest, or claim of the deceased to real
or personal estate, or the last will and testament of the deceased.
(b) The court may subpoena or otherwise order a person to appear before it to be examined
under oath upon the matter or to answer interrogatories or requests to produce to
be filed with the court. If the person so ordered refuses to appear and submit to
examination or to answer interrogatories, the person may be subject to proceedings
for civil contempt under 12 V.S.A. § 122. Interrogatories and answers to interrogatories shall be in writing, signed under
oath by the party examined, and filed with the court. (Amended 1985, No. 144 (Adj. Sess.), § 71; 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 238a, eff. Feb. 1, 2011; 2017, No. 195 (Adj. Sess.), § 8.)