Probate and estate bonds in Texas

• The decedent died intestate and the administration is dependent on the court.
• The will appoints an executor but does not waive bond.
• An interested person complains under section 305.102 and the court finds the executor is wasting, mismanaging or misapplying the estate such that a creditor or beneficiary may lose by it. That finding is the only basis for ordering a bond over an exemption the will created.
• A foreign executor qualifies here under a will that does not provide for service without bond.

Section 305.101 carries both the requirement and the way out of it: the court requires a bond unless the will dispenses with one and the court finds the person qualified to serve as executor. Section 305.101(c) exempts a corporate fiduciary outright. The exemption a will creates is not absolute, but the route around it is narrower than it is often described. Under section 305.102 a creditor or other interested person may file a written complaint and the court then cites the executor to show cause — yet it orders a bond, due within ten days, only if it finds the executor is wasting, mismanaging or misapplying the estate and that a creditor or beneficiary may lose as a result. That is a real evidentiary standard, not a formality an objector can trigger at will.

Texas handles out-of-state fiduciaries through Chapter 505. Under section 505.051 a foreign executor is not required to give bond where the will appointing them provides that they may serve without bond; absent that provision, the bond rules that apply to a domestic representative apply to them as well. The practical consequence is that the will's language, not the executor's address, usually decides the question.

Chapter 205 permits a small estate affidavit where the estate's assets — excluding the homestead and property exempt under the Property Code — do not exceed $75,000. The conditions are cumulative: the decedent must have died intestate, 30 days must have passed since the death, no petition for the appointment of a personal representative may be pending or granted, and a probate judge must approve the affidavit before it has any effect.

Tell us the bond amount the court set and we will place it. Most Texas files are issued the same day once the application is in.

• Probate bonds in California — Bond is the default unless the will or every beneficiary waives it, and the court can still require one for good cause.
• Probate bonds in New York — The Surrogate's Court counts eighteen months of rents in the bond, and a non-domiciliary executor can be required to post one even where the will excuses it.
• Probate bonds in Arizona — A bond is required unless the will or every heir waives it, and real estate counts toward the amount unless the letters restrict sales to court confirmation.
• Probate bonds in Michigan — No bond is required in an informal proceeding, until a beneficiary or creditor over the threshold files a written demand — which needs no court finding.
• Probate bonds in Pennsylvania — A bond is required before letters issue, and the section 3174 exemptions are conditioned on the personal representative living in Pennsylvania.

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