Executor and Personal-Representative Bond Requirements in Maine
At a glance
| Governing law and default bond rule | Maine's Probate Code makes bond presumptively unnecessary in informal proceedings, subject to an express will requirement, a qualifying demand, and the out-of-scope special-administrator exception; in formal proceedings bond is discretionary by court order (18-C M.R.S. § 3-603) |
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| Covered representative and proceeding | The rule covers a statutory personal representative, including an executor, administrator, and successor personal representative; this survey excludes special administrators even though § 3-603 makes their bond an express exception. The Code distinguishes informal register proceedings from formal judge proceedings (§ 1-201(19)-(20), (25), (40), (48), (56)) |
| Will waiver and limits | In formal proceedings a will's relief from bond applies unless an interested party requests bond and the court finds bond desirable; conversely, the court may dispense with a bond the will requires if it determines bond is unnecessary. In informal proceedings an express will requirement triggers bond (§ 3-603) |
| Beneficiary, heir, or distributee waiver | Sections 3-603 to 3-605 create no separate written or unanimous heir, devisee, beneficiary, or distributee waiver. A person who qualifies as interested may petition the court to excuse bond, but court action—not a private waiver—changes the requirement (§§ 1-201(26), 3-604) |
| Demand and court discretion | A person apparently holding an estate interest over $5,000 or a creditor with a claim over $5,000 may file a written demand with the register and mail a copy to an already appointed and qualified representative; bond then is required unless the demandant's interest ends or the bond is excused. On petition, the court may excuse, increase, reduce, replace, or change sureties (§§ 3-604 to 3-605) |
| Amount, property base, and reduction | If the will, order, application, or petition does not set the amount, the applicant states under oath the best estimate of the decedent's personal estate plus expected income from personal and real estate during the next year and files bond or other suitable security for at least that estimate. Restricted domestic-financial-institution deposits may reduce it, and the court may later increase or reduce it (§ 3-604) |
| Surety, collateral, deposits, and corporate exceptions | The register must find execution by a corporate surety or one or more individual sureties secured by pledged personal property, a real-property mortgage, or other adequate security; other suitable security is allowed. A statutory State-agency cash or collateral depositor needs no bond, and sureties are ordinarily jointly and severally liable. The surveyed provisions state no separate bank, trust-company, or co-representative exception (§§ 3-603 to 3-606) |
| Nonresident and special qualification rules | The ordinary bond provisions state no extra bond, resident-agent, or resident-cofiduciary rule based on the representative's residence. General qualification requires age 18 or older and no formal finding of unsuitability; a domiciliary personal representative has statutory priority subject to a different Maine will nomination (§ 3-203(6)-(8)) |
| Filing timing, letters, suspension, removal, and lapse | Any required bond and the acceptance statement must be filed before letters. After notice of a qualifying demand, the representative may act only as necessary to preserve the estate until bond is filed or the requirement ends; failure to give suitable bond within 30 days after notice is cause for removal and successor appointment (§§ 3-103, 3-601, 3-605) |
Requirements one by one
Informal and formal appointments use different defaults
Maine does not impose a universal executor bond. Under 18-C M.R.S. § 3-603, an informally appointed general personal representative ordinarily serves without bond. The principal exceptions are an express requirement in the will and a qualifying written demand. Formal proceedings are court-controlled: the court may order bond at appointment, but will relief ordinarily applies unless an interested party requests bond and the court finds it desirable.
The formal court may also dispense with a bond required by the will if it finds the security unnecessary. Sections 3-603 to 3-605 do not create a separate private waiver by all heirs or beneficiaries; an interested person may instead petition the court to excuse the requirement.
Demand is available only above the statutory threshold
Section 3-605 permits demand by a person apparently holding an estate interest worth more than $5,000 or a creditor whose claim exceeds $5,000. The demand is filed with the register and mailed to an already appointed and qualified representative. Bond then becomes required unless the demandant's interest ends or the bond is excused.
Once the representative receives notice, only powers needed to preserve the estate may be exercised until bond is filed or the requirement ends. Failure to give suitable bond within 30 days is cause for removal and appointment of a successor.
Amount and security depend on personalty and expected income
If the will, order, application, or petition does not state the amount, § 3-604 uses the applicant's sworn estimate of the decedent's personal estate plus expected income from personal and real estate during the next year. Bond or other suitable security must be at least that estimate.
The register may approve corporate surety or secured individual sureties. Restricted deposits at a domestic financial institution may reduce the amount, and the court may excuse, increase, or reduce bond, release sureties, or approve a substitute. Under § 3-606(1)-(2), sureties are ordinarily jointly and severally liable and accept the issuing court's jurisdiction.
Bond and acceptance precede letters
Sections 3-103 and 3-601 require appointment, qualification, letters, a filed acceptance, and any required bond before administration begins. Section 3-203(6)-(8) separately requires an adult appointee who has not been found unsuitable and gives a domiciliary representative statutory priority; it does not add a residence-based bond amount or surety rule.
What trips people up
- A qualifying written demand makes bond required, but the requirement can end or be excused through the statutory process.
- The default amount includes expected real-estate income, not the real property's value.
- A will may require bond in an informal case, while a formal court may excuse a will-required bond as unnecessary.
- The complete ordinary scheme states no unanimous-beneficiary waiver, separate bank or trust-company exemption, or nonresident bond formula.
Common questions
Can the court change the security later?
Yes. Section 3-604 permits the court to excuse, increase, or reduce bond, release sureties, or approve a substitute bond or sureties.
Does missing the 30-day demand deadline automatically remove the representative?
No. Section 3-605 makes the failure cause for removal and successor appointment; the removal proceeding still must occur.
Statutes and sources
The quoted provisions begin at 18-C M.R.S. § 1-201(8), §§ 3-103 and 3-203, §§ 3-601 and 3-603, §§ 3-604 to 3-605, and § 3-606(1)-(2).
- 18-C M.R.S. § 1-201 and §§ 3-103, 3-203, 3-601, and 3-603 to 3-606 — definitions, qualification, defaults, will terms, demand, amount, security, sureties, restricted authority, and removal — https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/18-C/title18-C.docx — accessed 2026-08-29.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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