Executor and Personal-Representative Bond Requirements in South Carolina

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Four ordinary routes avoid bond

Under § 62-3-603(A), bond is not required when all heirs and devisees agree to waive it, the representative is the sole heir or devisee, the representative is a state agency, bank, or trust company and the will does not expressly require bond, or the will names the representative and does not expressly require bond. A nominee of the will-named representative receives only a discretionary no-bond decision from the court.

These routes remain subject to a demand under § 62-3-605, and the ordinary exceptions do not cover a special administrator.

A separate small-estate route can override a will or legal requirement

Section 62-3-603(B) permits waiver of a bond otherwise required by law or the will when two conditions are met. At appointment, the representative files an affidavit certifying that the gross estate will be less than $20,000, the probate assets can pay all claims, and the representative accepts personal liability to beneficiaries and interested persons for negligence or intentional misconduct.

All known beneficiaries and other interested persons must also sign the court's prescribed written waiver and file it with the affidavit. Creditors are excluded from that consent class. This small-estate route cannot waive a bond required after a § 62-3-605 demand.

Amount is based on personal estate and personal-estate income

When the will or order does not set the amount, § 62-3-604 requires a sworn best estimate of the decedent's personal estate and the income expected from the personal estate during the next year. Bond or other suitable security must be at least that estimate. The formula does not add the real property's value or its expected income.

The court may reduce the amount for estate assets deposited with a domestic financial institution under restrictions preventing unauthorized disposition. On application or its own motion, the court may increase or reduce bond, release sureties, change the security or bond, or dispense with either.

Corporate and secured individual sureties are available

Section 62-3-604 permits a corporate surety or one or more individual sureties backed by pledged personal property, a real-property mortgage, or other adequate security. Under § 62-3-606(a)(1)-(2), the bond names the probate judge as obligee for interested persons' benefit and conditions it on faithful performance. Unless the approved bond says otherwise, the sureties and representative are jointly and severally liable.

A qualifying demand makes bond mandatory

Under § 62-3-605, a person with an apparent estate interest over $5,000 or a creditor with a claim over $5,000 may file a written demand and mail a copy to an already appointed and qualified representative. Bond is then required in the amount the court finds sufficient to protect that person's or creditor's interest. The requirement ends if the demandant no longer holds the qualifying interest or claim.

After notice and before filing or cessation, the representative may act only to preserve the estate or pay the demandant. Failure to provide suitable bond within 30 days is cause for removal and successor appointment unless good cause explains the delay.

Required bond and acceptance precede letters

Section 62-3-601 requires any bond and the acceptance statement before letters. South Carolina states no separate individual nonresident bond formula. Under § 62-3-203(e)-(f), however, the representative must be at least 18 and suitable, and specified out-of-state or foreign corporations—and their agents acting for them—cannot administer the estate of a South Carolina domiciliary.

What trips people up

• Unanimous heir-and-devisee waiver is only one route; a sole heir or devisee and a will-named representative have separate exceptions.
• The under-$20,000 route requires both the representative's affidavit and the prescribed written consent, plus an agreement to personal liability.
• A demand-based bond cannot be waived through the small-estate procedure.
• South Carolina's amount formula uses personal-estate income, not income from both personal and real estate.

Common questions

Can the representative keep administering while arranging a demanded bond?

Ordinarily no. Section 62-3-605 limits authority to preserving the estate or paying the person or creditor who demanded bond.

Does an interest or claim of exactly $5,000 trigger the demand rule?

No. Section 62-3-605 requires an amount “in excess of five thousand dollars.”

Is removal automatic on the thirtieth day?

No. Failure is cause for removal and successor appointment, but § 62-3-605 expressly preserves an exception when good cause is shown for the delay.

Statutes and sources

• S.C. Code § 62-3-203(e)-(f) — age, suitability, corporate restrictions, and domiciliary-representative priority — https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t62c003.php — accessed 2026-08-29.
• S.C. Code §§ 62-3-601, 62-3-603 to -606 — qualification before letters; ordinary and small-estate waivers; demands; amount; security; court authority; restricted powers; removal; and bond conditions — https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t62c003.php — accessed 2026-08-29.