Executor and Personal-Representative Bond Requirements in Florida

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Bond is the default, but both the will and court can change it

Fla. Stat. § 733.402 generally requires a personal representative receiving letters to execute and file a clerk-approved surety bond. The bond runs to the Governor, secures performance of the representative's legal duties, and must be joint and several. Authorized banks and trust companies are exempt.

A will may waive bond, and the court may also waive it. Neither decision is necessarily final: on an interested person's petition or its own motion, the court may require bond, increase or decrease it, or require additional surety. The statute supplies no automatic unanimous-beneficiary waiver; a beneficiary who is an interested person uses the court-petition route.

The incorporated definition in Fla. Stat. § 45.011 permits two sufficient personal sureties with the required unencumbered nonexempt property, a licensed surety company, or a conditioned cash deposit.

The amount is a court-set risk assessment

Under Fla. Stat. § 733.403, the court sets a sufficient penal sum after considering gross estate value, the personal representative's relationship to the beneficiaries, exempt property and family allowance, the type and nature of assets, known creditors, and liens and encumbrances.

The statute does not prescribe a fixed multiplier or minimum and does not state a formula for deducting blocked assets. Those omissions matter because the court's amount determination cannot be replaced by a generic estate-value calculation.

Residence and institutional status affect qualification differently

Fla. Stat. § 733.304 limits which nondomiciliary individuals may qualify, using listed family relationships. Part IV imposes no separate nonresident bond amount or surety rule. Fla. Stat. § 733.305 authorizes qualifying banks and trust companies to serve, and § 733.402 exempts authorized banks and trust companies from bond.

Reasonable premium on a required bond is an administration expense under Fla. Stat. § 733.406.

Qualification and replacement security control authority

Under Florida Probate Rule 5.235, the court appoints the entitled and qualified person, determines any bond, and receives the required oath and resident-agent filings. Letters issue after compliance with those steps.

If an interested person petitions to release a surety from future liability, Fla. Stat. § 733.405 permits the court to restrain the representative from acting except to preserve the estate while the matter is pending. The court's order sets the replacement bond and filing date. Failure to give it requires immediate removal; the original surety remains liable for conduct before the new surety and bond are approved.

What trips people up

• A will waiver is not immune from review. The court may later require bond or additional surety on petition or its own motion.
• Beneficiary consent is not an automatic statutory waiver. The court, rather than unanimity alone, controls waiver under § 733.402.
• Florida does not use one mechanical amount formula. Section 733.403 lists factors for a sufficient court-set penalty.
• Surety release and fiduciary release are different. A replacement process can restrain authority and lead to removal if the new bond is not filed.

Common questions

Can an interested person ask for bond after a will waived it?

Yes. Section 733.402(4) lets any interested person petition the court to require bond or additional surety, and the court may also act on its own.

Are banks and trust companies required to post the ordinary bond?

No. Authorized banks and trust companies are expressly exempt under § 733.402(3).

Does a nonresident automatically need a higher bond?

The surveyed provisions state no extra nonresident bond. Section 733.304 instead limits which nondomiciliary individuals may qualify to serve.

Statutes and sources

• Fla. Stat. § 45.011 — permitted personal, licensed-company, and cash- deposit forms of a bond with surety. Official current Chapter 45 (accessed 2026-08-29).
• Fla. Stat. §§ 733.304-.305 — nonresident individual and institutional qualification. Official current Chapter 733 (accessed 2026-08-29).
• Fla. Stat. §§ 733.402-.406 — default, waiver, court authority, amount, surety replacement, and premium. Official current Chapter 733 (accessed 2026-08-29).
• Florida Probate Rule 5.235 — bond determination, qualification filings, and issuance of letters. Official July 16, 2026 Probate Rules PDF (accessed 2026-08-29).

The current-session pending-bill sweep found no measure that would change the personal-representative bond rules summarized here.