Executor and Personal-Representative Bond Requirements in Maryland
At a glance
| Governing law and default bond rule | Maryland Estates and Trusts §§ 6-101 and 6-102 make required bond a condition of appointment and generally require a State bond benefiting interested persons and creditors, with register-approved surety |
|---|---|
| Covered representative and proceeding | Ordinary personal representative means executor or administrator and expressly excludes special administrator; applies to administrative or judicial probate (§ 1-101(r); Title 6) |
| Will waiver and limits | Will must expressly excuse bond; even then a nominal bond sufficient for debts and Maryland inheritance tax remains, and court may later require bond on good cause (§ 6-102(a)-(b), (h)(2)) |
| Beneficiary, heir, or distributee waiver | Written waiver of all interested persons excuses the full bond, not the nominal debt-and-inheritance-tax bond. Interested-person definition includes listed executors, representatives, legatees, heirs, certain spouses/caveators, and persons under disability or their stated representatives (§§ 1-101(j), 6-102(a)-(b)) |
| Demand and court discretion | Interested person or creditor may petition during administration; court may require bond for good cause and may require additional, new, or countersecurity and increase/decrease penalty for good cause (§ 6-102(b)(3), (e)(2), (i)) |
| Amount, property base, and reduction | Full-bond penalty may not exceed probable maximum estate personal property during administration, less court-valued collateral posted with court and estate cash in an approved withdrawal-restricted account; nominal amount secures debts and Maryland inheritance tax (§ 6-102(b), (e)) |
| Surety, collateral, deposits, and corporate exceptions | Surety may be an authorized corporation or one or more register-approved individuals; representative and sureties are jointly/severally liable unless court orders otherwise. National bank or trust company is exempt; no bond after final account approval (§ 6-102(c)-(e)) |
| Nonresident and special qualification rules | Nonresident must keep an irrevocable designation of an appropriate Maryland resident for service; no extra nonresident bond formula. Certain noncitizens are ineligible unless permanent-resident close relatives; trust companies and authorized corporations may receive letters (§ 5-105(b)-(c)) |
| Filing timing, letters, suspension, removal, and lapse | Required bond, acceptance, and jurisdiction consent are filed as appointment conditions; bond goes to register, letters issue after appointment, and authority starts with letters. Failure to provide ordered replacement security can lead to bond suit and may support removal proceedings (§§ 6-101 to -105, 6-102(i), 6-306) |
Requirements one by one
Required bond is a condition of appointment
Under § 6-101, a proposed personal representative must file the office acceptance, any required bond, and the written jurisdiction consent as conditions of appointment. § 6-102(a) generally requires a bond to Maryland for the benefit of interested persons and creditors with surety approved by the register.
The surveyed office is an executor or administrator. § 1-101(r) expressly excludes a special administrator from the personal-representative definition, preserving the topic's boundary.
Waiver excuses the full bond, not every bond
The full bond is excused when the will expressly says so or all interested persons waive it in writing. Maryland Rule 6-312 supplies the waiver form, which says the representative serves without bond “except as required by law.”
That qualification matters. Under § 6-102(b), even an excused representative gives a bond in an amount the register or court considers sufficient for the decedent's debts and Maryland inheritance taxes. The statute calls this the required nominal bond and gives it a narrower payment condition.
The interested-person definition in § 1-101(j) is detailed and changes as the estate proceeds. It covers the listed executor, serving representative, legatees, heirs, certain elective-share spouses and caveators, and persons under disability or their stated representatives; an assignee of a legatee or heir is excluded. The waiver route requires all persons who meet that current definition, not simply a majority of beneficiaries.
A later petition can restore protection
Even when bond was not an appointment condition, § 6-102(b)(3) permits an interested person or creditor to petition during administration. The court may require bond for good cause. It also may require additional, new, or countersecurity under § 6-102(i) and increase or decrease the penalty for good cause at any time.
The ceiling tracks personal property and recognizes two reductions
Under § 6-102(e), the court or register fixes the full-bond penalty at no more than the probable maximum value of estate personal property during administration. The calculation subtracts the court-determined market value of collateral posted with the court and estate cash held at a court-approved bank in an account whose withdrawal method is court-approved.
The nominal bond uses a different standard: enough to secure the debts and Maryland inheritance taxes payable by the representative. The court may later raise or lower either applicable penalty for good cause.
Sureties and institutional representatives use separate rules
Section 6-102(d) permits an authorized corporate surety or one or more individual sureties approved by the register. Unless the court orders otherwise, the personal representative and all sureties are jointly and severally liable. The premium is an estate charge, and the bond is filed in the register's office.
A national banking association or trust company serving as personal representative gives no bond under § 6-102(c). No bond is required for any period after final approval of the final administration account.
Nonresidence changes service, not the amount formula
Under § 5-105(c)(6), a nonresident is ineligible unless an irrevocable designation of an appropriate Maryland resident for service is on file with the register. The statute does not add a nonresident bond multiplier or a resident cofiduciary condition.
§ 5-105(b)-(c) separately permits trust companies, authorized corporations, and eligible individuals, and limits a noncitizen appointment to a qualifying permanent-resident spouse or listed close relative.
Letters begin authority after the appointment conditions are met
After appointment, the register issues letters under § 6-103(a). The representative's duties and powers begin when letters issue under § 6-105, subject to the statute's good-faith preappointment-act and ratification rules.
If ordered replacement security is not provided within the court-fixed reasonable time, § 6-102(i)(2) permits the court to put the bond in suit. Willful disregard of an order or unexcused failure of a material office duty can support the noticed removal procedure under § 6-306(a)-(d), while failure to maintain the resident-agent designation is an express removal ground.
What trips people up
- A will or unanimous waiver usually replaces the full bond with a nominal bond; it does not necessarily eliminate bond.
- Creditors have an express later-petition route even though the statutory interested-person definition does not generally list them.
- The full-bond ceiling uses personal property, not total gross estate value.
- Posted collateral and restricted cash are statutory deductions from the ceiling, not informal underwriting adjustments.
Common questions
Can one heir waive over another heir's objection?
No. The statutory waiver route requires a written waiver of all interested persons as defined for that stage of the proceeding.
Does a trust company file the nominal bond?
No. Section 6-102(c) exempts a national banking association or trust company serving as personal representative from giving bond.
When does the representative gain authority?
The appointment conditions include any required bond, letters issue after appointment, and duties and powers commence with issuance of the letters.
Statutes and sources
- Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 1-101(j), (r) — interested persons and surveyed personal representative — https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=get§ion=1-101 — accessed 2026-08-29.
- Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 5-105 — eligible individuals and corporations, noncitizen limits, and nonresident agent — https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=get§ion=5-105 — accessed 2026-08-29.
- Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §§ 6-101 to -105 — appointment conditions, full and nominal bonds, waiver, amount, reductions, sureties, filing, letters, and authority — https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=get§ion=6-102 — accessed 2026-08-29.
- Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 6-306 — removal grounds and procedure — https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=get§ion=6-306 — accessed 2026-08-29.
- Md. Rule 6-312 — full-bond, nominal-bond, and waiver forms — https://govt.westlaw.com/mdc/Document/N7B5E59309CEB11DB9BCF9DAC28345A2A?viewType=FullText&originationContext=documenttoc&transitionType=CategoryPageItem&contextData=(sc.Default) — accessed 2026-08-29.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
What does Maryland law mean for your facts?
You just read the general rule. Ask your own question and see which parts of current Maryland law apply to your situation, with citations you can check.
Opens in Ezel Pro.
- Starts from the statutes this survey is built on
- Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
- Chat, drafting and research in one workspace