Executor and Personal-Representative Bond Requirements in Tennessee

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Tennessee lists four routes around the bond default

Under § 30-1-201, the clerk does not require bond before letters when the will excuses it, the court approves the same person as both personal representative and sole beneficiary, all beneficiaries qualify and unanimously file the required statement with court approval, or a bank is exempt under the cross-referenced banking law.

The all-beneficiary route is exacting: every beneficiary must be an adult and free of a disability that would prevent acting, every beneficiary must consent, the filing must be sworn or made under penalty of perjury, and the court must approve. Private consent alone is not enough.

If no exception applies, the clerk takes the bond before issuing letters. Under § 30-1-111, the executor or administrator must also take the office-specific oath before the letters are delivered, either before the clerk or through the stated notarized alternative.

The court sets a bounded amount and the statute fixes the surety choices

Section 30-1-201 requires at least two sufficient sureties or one corporate surety. The court sets the amount, but it cannot be less than the value of the decedent's estate subject to administration or more than twice that value. The court may increase or decrease the amount at any time.

The statutory form in § 30-1-203 makes the bond payable to Tennessee and conditions it on performance of every legally required executor or administrator duty, including specified costs and expenses caused by failure to account for and properly use funds.

§ 30-1-204 extends the bond's office coverage to executors and administrators with the will annexed and reaches their required duties involving both real and personal estate.

For qualifying locked assets, § 35-50-111 supplies a separate reduction. Because the definition in § 35-2-102(a)(2) includes an executor, administrator, and personal representative, a court-approved and filed agreement preventing withdrawal of principal from a bank, trust company, or savings-and-loan account reduces the required bond to the interest. Court- approved withdrawal does not itself require a bond adjustment.

Interested-person proceedings use different proof and remedies

Under § 30-1-201(b), an interested person may petition and show that the representative is wasting or likely to waste the estate. The court may then require bond in an amount it considers advisable.

Section 30-1-202 addresses an existing bond. On a showing by an interested person that the amount or surety solvency is insufficient, the court must increase the amount, require additional sureties, or both so all interested persons are fully protected.

The administration-bond procedure in § 30-1-207 requires service of the petition ten days before the motion. On satisfactory proof, the court directs the representative to enter bond with sureties. Failure to comply within ten days after the order requires appointment of a bonded administrator, who must call the former representative to account immediately.

A nonresident can serve but faces added filing and bond exposure

§ 35-50-107(a)(2)(B) permits any resident or nonresident person to serve as a decedent's personal representative, so the general resident- cofiduciary rule does not bar that office.

Before acting, the nonresident must appoint the Tennessee secretary of state in writing as service agent under § 35-50-107(b)(2), identify the particular estate and address, pay the statutory $10 filing fee, and give the probate court a copy of the receipt.

Even if another rule waives bond, § 35-50-107(c) lets the court require a bond equal to personal-estate assets removed from Tennessee during administration. In an intestate estate, the nonresident cannot serve without bond unless all heirs at law join a petition authorizing that service.

What trips people up

• Beneficiary consent needs both capacity and court approval. The statute does not permit a minor, disabled beneficiary, or bare private agreement to satisfy the unanimous route.
• The amount is a range, not an automatic double bond. The court chooses between the administered estate's value and twice that value and may later change the amount.
• Nonresident intestacy is stricter than testacy. All heirs must join the authorizing petition before a nonresident can serve an intestate estate without bond.

Common questions

Does a waste allegation automatically create a bond requirement?

No. Section 30-1-201(b) says the court may require bond after the interested person suggests and shows waste or likely waste. By contrast, § 30-1-202 says the court must strengthen an existing bond after a showing that its amount or sureties are insufficient.

Must a nonresident personal representative also have a Tennessee cofiduciary?

No. Section 35-50-107(a)(2)(B) expressly allows any nonresident person to serve as personal representative. The separate service-agent filing and bond rules still apply.

What must the replacement administrator do after a bond-order default?

Section 30-1-207 requires the new administrator to give bond, administer the estate according to the will, and call the former personal representative to account forthwith.

Statutes and sources

• Tenn. Code §§ 30-1-111, 30-1-201 to -204, and 30-1-207 — oath, bond exceptions, amount, sureties, form, interested-person proceedings, service, replacement, and accounting. Public-domain Tennessee Code Title 30 transform (release 76; accessed 2026-08-29; bridged by current-session amendment sweep).
• Tenn. Code §§ 35-2-102, 35-50-107, and 35-50-111 — fiduciary definition, nonresident service and bond rules, and restricted-principal reduction. Public-domain Tennessee Code Title 35 transform (release 76; accessed 2026-08-29; bridged by current-session amendment sweep).

The current-session post-release bill sweep found no measure that would change the ordinary executor or administrator bond rules summarized here.