Executor and Personal-Representative Bond Requirements in Michigan

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Informal and formal appointments start from different defaults

MCL § 700.3603 generally excuses bond in an informal appointment. The exceptions are a special personal representative, an express bond requirement in the will, or a qualifying written demand under § 700.3605. The special office is outside this survey, but its presence in the exception list matters because the no-bond default is not universal.

In a formal proceeding, the probate court may order bond at appointment. If the will relieves the representative, the court may order bond only when an interested person requests it and the court is satisfied bond is desirable. If the will requires bond, the court may still dispense with it as unnecessary.

Michigan's definition in MCL § 700.1106(p) includes an executor, administrator, and successor personal representative. The bond provisions make no separate residence-based amount or surety rule for those ordinary offices.

The written-demand threshold changes with the year of death

Under MCL § 700.3605, a person apparently holding an estate interest or a creditor claim above the statutory threshold may file a written demand with the register. If appointment and qualification already occurred, the demander must mail a copy to the representative. Filing makes bond required unless the demander's interest ends or the bond is excused under § 700.3603 or § 700.3604.

The printed $30,000 amount is indexed under MCL § 700.1210 by the calendar year in which the decedent dies. The Michigan Department of Treasury's 2026 EPIC cost-of-living notice sets the 2026 amount at $32,000, so the demand route for a 2026 death requires an interest or claim in excess of $32,000. A death in another year uses that year's published amount.

The sworn estimate supplies the ordinary amount floor

When the will, order, application, or petition does not supply an amount, MCL § 700.3604 requires a sworn estimate of the decedent's personal estate and the income expected from the personal and real estate during the next year. The bond or other suitable security cannot be less than that estimate.

The register may accept a corporate surety or one or more individual sureties whose performance is secured by a personal-property pledge, real-property mortgage, or other adequate security. Estate property blocked at a Michigan financial institution against unauthorized disposition can support a reduction. On petition of the representative or another interested person, or on its own motion, the court may excuse bond, change the amount, release sureties, or substitute a different bond.

Two deposit routes have different effects

Section 700.3603(3) eliminates bond when the representative deposits court- determined cash or collateral with the county treasurer to secure fiduciary performance. Section 700.3604 instead permits an amount reduction for estate property held at a Michigan financial institution in a way that prevents unauthorized disposition. One is a substitute for bond; the other changes the amount.

Under MCL § 700.3606, an actual bond names Michigan as obligee for interested persons and secures faithful discharge of all duties. Unless the approved terms say otherwise, the sureties and representative are jointly and severally liable, and proceedings may continue until the entire penalty is exhausted.

Qualification and an unmet demand affect authority at different stages

Under MCL § 700.3601(1), any required bond and the acceptance of office must be filed before letters. A later § 700.3605 demand does not instantly remove the representative, but after notice the representative may exercise only powers needed to preserve the estate until suitable bond is filed or the requirement ends.

Failure to satisfy the requirement within 28 days after notice is cause for removal and appointment of a successor. MCL § 700.3611 supplies the petition, notice, hearing, and discretionary removal framework; the demand statute states cause for removal, not automatic termination on day 28.

What trips people up

• A will's effect depends on the proceeding. In an informal case, an express will requirement creates a bond exception to the no-bond default. In a formal case, the court can excuse a will-required bond or override will relief after a request and desirability finding.
• The demand figure printed in § 700.3605 is not the operative figure for every death. Section 700.1210 indexes it by year of death; the certified 2026 amount is $32,000, and the statute requires an interest or claim above, not equal to, the applicable figure.
• Demand filing and receipt have different effects. Filing makes bond required, while the representative's preservation-only power restriction and 28-day clock follow receipt of notice.
• County-treasurer collateral and a blocked financial account are not the same mechanism. The former eliminates bond; the latter can reduce its amount.

Common questions

Can all heirs or devisees jointly waive bond?

EPIC's bond sections state no collective beneficiary-waiver route. Bond relief instead turns on the will, the court's authority to excuse or modify it, or the county-treasurer cash-or-collateral substitute.

Must a written demand lead to removal if no bond appears in 28 days?

No automatic removal occurs merely because the period expires. Section 700.3605 makes noncompliance cause for removal and successor appointment, while § 700.3611 uses a petition, notice, hearing, and a court decision.

Must individual sureties own Michigan real estate?

Section 700.3604 does not impose that specific condition. It permits one or more individual sureties whose performance is secured by a personal-property pledge, real-property mortgage, or other adequate security, subject to the register's determination.

Statutes and sources

• MCL §§ 700.1106(p), 700.1210, and 700.3601 through 700.3611 — covered representatives, indexing, qualification, bond defaults, will rules, demand, amount, security, surety terms, and removal consequence. Official Michigan Legislature Act 386 compilation (rendered August 26, 2026; current through PA 91 of 2026; accessed 2026-08-29).
• Michigan Department of Treasury, 2026 EPIC cost-of-living notice — the certified § 700.3605 amount for a 2026 death. Official signed notice (accessed 2026-08-29).

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