{"data":{"id":"us-vt/14-v.s.a.-323","jurisdiction":"us-vt","citation":"14 V.S.A. § 323","heading":"Written waiver of spousal rights","body":"(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.\n(b) A written waiver of spousal rights is presumed to be valid unless the party contesting the waiver demonstrates that:\n(1) the waiver was not voluntary, or was made as a result of fraud, duress, or coercion;\n(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;\n(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\n(4) before signing the waiver, the waiving spouse did not have an opportunity for meaningful access to independent counsel.\n(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:\n(1) expressly grants the authority to make the election; or\n(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\n(B) does not expressly exclude the authority to make the election.\n(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.","path":["Title 14: Decedents Estates and Fiduciary Relations","Chapter 042: Descent and Survivors' Rights","Subchapter 002: SURVIVORS' RIGHTS AND ALLOWANCES"],"source_url":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/14/042/00323","current_through":"2025 session","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T17:16:59Z","sha256":"4ad27fb8531e27f168319f85458bf29bf9d7b43314d1803829c4ef69fc5aa260","source_id":"us-vt","stale":false,"prev":"us-vt/14-v.s.a.-322","next":"us-vt/14-v.s.a.-331"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}