Executor and Personal-Representative Bond Requirements in Indiana

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Indiana starts with no resident bond

Indiana Code § 29-1-11-1 makes bond exceptional for an ordinary resident personal representative. Bond is required only if the will provides for it or the probate court finds, on its own motion or an interested person's petition, that bond is necessary to protect creditors, heirs, legatees, or devisees.

The unsupervised-administration provision, § 29-1-7.5-2.5, states the same trigger and adds that the court determines the amount of a required bond, which is then administered under Chapter 11. Indiana therefore does not use a will waiver of an otherwise mandatory resident bond; the will is instead one of the events that creates the bond requirement.

Consent to unsupervised administration is not a bond waiver

Section 29-1-7.5-2 may require heirs, legatees, devisees, or their stated representatives to consent to administration without court supervision. That consent selects the administration route. It does not create a separate beneficiary bond waiver, and § 29-1-7.5-2.5 still controls whether bond is required in that proceeding.

Under § 29-1-1-3(a)(18), an interested person can include an heir, devisee, spouse, creditor, or another person with an estate property right or claim. Their petition or motion does not automatically impose bond: the court must find bond necessary to protect the interests listed in the bond statute.

Amount differs sharply for residents and nonresidents

For a resident representative in unsupervised administration, the court fixes the amount of any required bond. Chapter 11 supplies no fixed ordinary property-based formula.

Nonresident qualification uses a statutory range under § 29-1-10-1(c)-(f). The bond must be at least the probable value of estate personal property plus estimated rents and profits during probate, but no greater than the estate's probable gross value. A nonresident individual serving alone must also file a written acceptance and appoint a resident service agent. A nonresident individual or corporate fiduciary may serve jointly with a resident personal representative under the subsection's bond and qualification conditions.

For unsupervised administration, § 29-1-7.5-2.5(c) lets the court increase, decrease, or reduce the nonresident bond to zero. The same statutory bond requirement applies when a serving representative later becomes a nonresident.

Chapter 11 governs security and approval

Under §§ 29-1-11-5 to -6, every bond must be examined, approved, and endorsed in writing. A personal surety must file the required affidavit concerning execution-subject real property, liabilities, other bond obligations, and—when the detailed rule applies—the Indiana property offered as security and its liens and values. The approving official may demand satisfactory title evidence.

Under §§ 29-1-11-2 to -4, the bond runs to Indiana for protected persons, and the representative and sureties are jointly and severally liable. For co-representatives, the court may require separate bonds or a single bond; a representative is not another representative's surety unless the bond says so. The provisions also permit an agreement with the surety that places estate money or assets in an authorized or court-approved depository and prevents withdrawal without the surety's written consent or a court order after the notice the court directs. The deposit provision does not state that the deposit itself reduces the bond amount.

Approved bond comes before letters

Under § 29-1-10-3, an individual must take the faithful-performance oath and give any required, court-approved bond before letters issue. A corporation must file its officer's oath and acceptance and, if bond is required of it, file an approved bond as well.

Under §§ 29-1-11-7, -9(a), if a representative misses the court-fixed deadline for required bond, the court must appoint someone else and revoke any letters already issued. If a surety petitions for release, the statute requires ten days' notice to the principal, a court notice directing a new approved bond within fifteen days, an accounting, and removal if the new bond is not filed on time.

What trips people up

• A will provision is a bond trigger in Indiana, not a waiver of a default bond.
• Heir or devisee consent to unsupervised administration is not a statutory waiver of bond.
• The nonresident qualification formula is not the ordinary resident bond formula.
• A restricted deposit under § 29-1-11-2 does not expressly reduce the bond.
• An appointment cannot produce letters until required bond is approved.

Common questions

Can a creditor ask the court to require bond?

Potentially. A creditor is within the statutory interested-person definition, but the court must find bond necessary to protect the listed estate interests.

May the court waive a nonresident's bond?

In unsupervised administration, the court may reduce the amount to zero under § 29-1-7.5-2.5(c). The supervised nonresident qualification provisions state the property-based range without that discretion.

What happens when an existing surety wants off the bond?

After the required notice, the court directs a replacement bond within fifteen days. Failure to comply results in removal, while the outgoing surety remains liable for earlier acts and omissions.

Statutes and sources

• Ind. Code § 29-1-1-3(a)(18), (30) — interested persons and personal representative definitions — https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_29/Article_1/Chapter_1.pdf — accessed 2026-08-29.
• Ind. Code §§ 29-1-7.5-2, -2.5 — unsupervised-administration consent, resident bond triggers and amount, and nonresident discretion — https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_29/Article_1/Chapter_7.5.pdf — accessed 2026-08-29.
• Ind. Code §§ 29-1-10-1, -3 — nonresident qualification bond, resident agent, oath, bond approval, and letters — https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_29/Article_1/Chapter_10.pdf — accessed 2026-08-29.
• Ind. Code §§ 29-1-11-1 to -7, -9 — default, deposits, bond form, sureties, approval, replacement, revocation, and removal — https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_29/Article_1/Chapter_11.pdf — accessed 2026-08-29.