Executor and Personal-Representative Bond Requirements in Oregon
At a glance
| Governing law and default bond rule | ORS §§ 113.105 and 113.125. Bond is mandatory by default before acting or letters; Circuit Court sets it, subject to statutory exceptions and waivers |
|---|---|
| Covered representative and proceeding | Ordinary personal representative in an Oregon decedent's-estate proceeding. Special administrators are outside this survey's scope |
| Will waiver and limits | Will may provide that no bond is required, but court may require one for good cause despite the will (§ 113.105(2)(a)) |
| Beneficiary, heir, or distributee waiver | Sole heir or devisee serving as representative is exempt unless court finds good cause for bond. No general collective beneficiary/heir waiver stated (§ 113.105(2)(b)) |
| Demand and court discretion | No automatic interested-person or creditor demand stated. Representative may request waiver by stating reasons and known creditors; court may later increase, reduce, or require new bond (§§ 113.105(4), 113.115) |
| Amount, property base, and reduction | Court-set amount adequate to protect interested persons, considering asset nature/liquidity/apparent value, anticipated administration income, and probable debt and taxes. Restricted financial-institution assets or court-restricted dispositions support waiver/reduction (§ 113.105(1)(b), (5)) |
| Surety, collateral, deposits, and corporate exceptions | Surety must qualify under ORCP 82 D-G. Court-restricted withdrawal or disposition can support waiver/reduction; trust company appointed as fiduciary needs no oath, indemnity bond, or other security except under cited banking provisions (§§ 113.105(1), (5)-(6), 709.240) |
| Nonresident and special qualification rules | No separate nonresident bond formula stated; resident and nonresident representatives both submit to Oregon jurisdiction by accepting appointment. Listed state/public fiduciaries and no-known-assets petitions are exempt (§§ 113.087, 113.105(2)(c)-(d)) |
| Filing timing, letters, suspension, removal, and lapse | Required bond must be provided before acting and filed before letters issue. If initially exempt for no known assets, move to set or waive bond within 30 days after first inventory/supplement showing assets; court may later require new bond (§§ 113.105(1), (3), 113.115, 113.125) |
Requirements one by one
Bond is the default before authority or letters
Under § 113.105(1)-(2), the ordinary personal representative may not act and letters may not issue until a bond is provided to the court clerk. The bond protects all interested persons, is conditioned on faithful performance, and must use a surety qualified under ORCP 82 D-G. Section § 113.125(1)-(2) makes filing any required bond a condition of letters and requires the letters to show court-imposed conditions or limitations.
This cell covers the ordinary personal representative; special administrators are outside the survey's scope.
A will or sole-beneficiary status can remove the default
Section 113.105(2) makes the default inapplicable when the will says no bond is required or the representative is the sole heir or devisee. Neither route is absolute: the court may require bond for good cause. The same subsection also exempts the listed state and public fiduciaries and a petition reporting no known estate assets.
Oregon states no general route for heirs, devisees, or beneficiaries collectively to waive bond. The sole-heir-or-devisee exception and the representative-request route are the relevant statutory paths.
The representative can request a creditor-aware waiver
The remaining mechanisms in § 113.105(3)-(6) include a representative's request for waiver under subsection (4), which must state why waiver is requested and describe the estate's known creditors. That is not an automatic creditor-demand provision; the court decides the request.
Section § 113.115 separately lets the court increase or reduce an existing bond or require a new one when the bond is inadequate or excessive or new bond is necessary. It also links discharge of the surety to a statutory court order.
The amount turns on assets, income, debts, and taxes
Section 113.105(1)(b) requires an amount adequate to protect interested persons. The court considers the nature, liquidity, and apparent value of estate assets, anticipated administration income, and probable indebtedness and taxes. The appointment petition supplies the extent and nature of estate assets for that decision under § 113.035(11).
Under § 113.105(5), the court may waive or reduce bond to the extent estate property is held by a financial institution for withdrawal only by court order, or the court restricts sale, encumbrance, or other disposition without prior approval.
Trust companies have a separate statutory exemption
Section 709.240 provides that a trust company appointed as fiduciary need not give an official oath, indemnity bond, or other security, subject to the banking provisions the section itself identifies. Section 113.105(6) expressly preserves that rule for a trust company acting as personal representative.
Nonresidence does not create a second bond formula
Section § 113.087(1) applies the same jurisdictional submission to a resident or nonresident who accepts appointment. Neither it nor the ordinary bond section states an additional nonresident amount, resident cosigner, or separate nonresident surety rule.
What trips people up
- A will's no-bond clause and sole-heir-or-devisee status remain subject to a good-cause override.
- A representative who qualified because no assets were known must, within 30 days after filing the first inventory or supplemental inventory that shows assets, move to set or waive bond under § 113.105(3).
- Restricting property does not set a new universal formula; it lets the court waive or reduce bond to the extent of the restriction.
Common questions
Can several beneficiaries sign a waiver instead of posting bond?
Section 113.105 does not state a collective-beneficiary waiver. It separately recognizes a representative who is the sole heir or devisee and allows the representative to ask the court for waiver with reasons and known creditors.
Does a creditor automatically force a bond?
No automatic creditor-demand route appears in the ordinary bond section. Known creditors must be described when the representative asks the court to waive bond.
Can the court change the bond after letters issue?
Yes. Section 113.115 allows an increase, reduction, or new bond when the existing amount is inadequate or excessive or a new bond is necessary.
Statutes and sources
- ORS §§ 113.035(11), 113.087, 113.105, 113.115, and 113.125 — petition information, resident and nonresident jurisdiction, bond default and exceptions, amount, restricted property, later changes, and letters — https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors113.html — accessed 2026-08-29.
- ORS § 709.240 — trust-company oath, bond, and security exemption — https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors709.html — accessed 2026-08-29.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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