Executor and Personal-Representative Bond Requirements in Texas
At a glance
| Governing law and default bond rule | Texas Estates Code Chapter 305 makes bond the default before letters testamentary or administration. Exceptions: qualified named executor whose Texas-probated will directs no bond/security, and a corporate fiduciary. Independent administration under § 401.005 has a separate waiver route (§§ 305.101, 401.005) |
|---|---|
| Covered representative and proceeding | Ordinary dependent executor, administrator, and administrator with will annexed; Chapter 305 also covers joint and successor representatives. Section 401.005 separately governs independent executors created by distributee agreement. Temporary, public, ancillary, guardian, trustee, and other bonds remain outside scope (§§ 305.001-.103, 401.005) |
| Will waiver and limits | Texas-probated will may direct no bond or security for its named executor; court must still find the person qualified. The exception does not state a will-waiver route for an administrator and does not prevent later risk-based bond under § 305.102. Corporate fiduciary needs no bond (§§ 305.101-.102) |
| Beneficiary, heir, or distributee waiver | For an independent administration created under §§ 401.002-.003, court may waive bond on application. If will lacks no-bond language, all distributees may agree in the probate application or separate consents; waiver is denied if court finds it contrary to estate's best interest. Sole post-debt entitlement reduces ordinary bond to creditor protection, not automatic zero (§§ 305.151, 401.005) |
| Demand and court discretion | Sworn creditor or other interested person may complain against an otherwise unbonded executor; after citation/hearing, court must require bond within 10 days if waste, mismanagement, or misapplication probably threatens debt or estate interest. Interested person may seek a new bond that is insufficient, defective, lost, or destroyed; judge may order or cite without delay (§§ 305.102, .251-.253) |
| Amount, property base, and reduction | Judge sets sufficient protection for estate/creditors; sole post-debt taker needs creditor-only coverage. Ordinary amount = estimated personal property + next 12 months' interest, dividends, collectible claims, installments/periodic payments excluding Social Security, and rentals. Court-ordered or voluntary deposits reduce amount proportionally (§§ 305.151, .153, .155-.156) |
| Surety, collateral, deposits, and corporate exceptions | At least two personal sureties with adequate nonexempt Texas property, or ordinarily one authorized corporate surety; personal sureties' total reachable net worth must be at least 2× bond. Over $50,000, court may require two corporate sureties or one corporate plus two personal; estate pays corporate-bond cost. Representative or personal surety may substitute court-accepted cash/securities; restricted estate deposits also reduce bond (§§ 305.155-.156, .201-.203, .207) |
| Nonresident and special qualification rules | Chapter 305 states no nonresident-specific bond rule; its express exceptions turn on a Texas-probated will's direction and corporate-fiduciary status. Joint representatives may give separate or joint bond. Independent-executor bond under § 401.005 may use a judge-approved adequate bond or one authorized corporate surety (§§ 305.101, .103, 401.005) |
| Filing timing, letters, suspension, removal, and lapse | Required bond, filing, and judge approval are part of qualification before letters. Bond may be filed before day 21 after appointment or bond modification, or before revocation for qualification failure. Risk-based bond for an unbonded executor is due by day 10 absent extension, with mandatory removal on default. A new-bond order suspends all but preservation powers until approved (§§ 305.002, .004, .102, .252-.254) |
Requirements one by one
Bond is the default, with named statutory exceptions
Texas Estates Code § 305.101 generally requires bond before letters testamentary or administration. A qualified executor named in a will probated in a Texas court receives letters without bond when the will directs that no bond or security is required. A corporate fiduciary also needs no bond.
For an independent administration created through distributee agreement, § 401.005 supplies a separate rule. Bond remains the baseline unless the probate court grants an application to waive it. If the will contains no no- bond direction, all distributees may agree in the probate application or separate consent documents, but the court does not waive if it finds waiver would not be in the estate's best interest.
Creditors and interested persons have targeted security routes
Under § 305.102, a creditor with the required sworn debt, claim, or demand, or another interested person, may complain against an executor who originally served without bond. After citation and hearing, the court must order bond within 10 days if waste, mismanagement, or misapplication probably threatens a creditor's debt or another estate interest. Unless extended, default requires removal without citation and appointment of a replacement.
Tex. Est. Code § 305.251 separately allows an interested person to seek a new bond that is insufficient, defective, lost, or destroyed. Tex. Est. Code § 305.252 lets the judge promptly order a new bond without notice or issue a show-cause citation when the statutory condition appears. Under § 305.253, a bond ordered after the show-cause hearing is due within the court-set period, no later than 20 days after the order.
Property and the next year's revenue drive the amount
Section 305.151 directs the judge to set enough bond to protect the estate and creditors. If the representative is entitled to the entire estate after debts, the amount protects creditors only; that is a reduced-protection rule, not an automatic no-bond rule.
Under § 305.153, the ordinary amount combines estimated personal property with anticipated revenue during the next 12 months from interest, dividends, collectible claims, installments or periodic payments other than Social Security, and rentals. Court-ordered and voluntary deposits reduce the amount proportionally.
Tex. Est. Code § 305.155 permits or requires restricted estate deposits and allows an interested person to apply for them. Tex. Est. Code § 305.156 lets the personal representative use court-accepted personal cash or securities instead of sureties or to reduce the bond.
Surety structure is detailed and court controlled
Under § 305.201, a bond may use at least two qualified personal sureties with sufficient nonexempt Texas property or ordinarily one authorized corporate surety. Tex. Est. Code § 305.203 requires the personal sureties' combined reachable net worth to equal at least twice the bond. Tex. Est. Code § 305.207 lets a personal surety use the surety's own cash or securities instead of a required affidavit or real-property pledge.
For a bond above $50,000, § 305.202 permits the court to require two authorized corporate sureties or one authorized corporate surety plus at least two sufficient personal sureties. The estate pays the cost of a corporate- surety bond. Joint personal representatives may give separate bonds or one joint bond under § 305.103.
Bond approval controls qualification and later authority
Under § 305.002, a bonded representative qualifies only after the oath or declaration, filing the required bond, and obtaining the judge's approval. Tex. Est. Code § 305.004 allows filing before the 21st day after the appointment or bond-modification order, or before letters are revoked for failure to qualify, and directs prompt court review.
An order requiring a new bond suspends the representative's powers under § 305.254. Until the new bond is given and approved, the representative cannot pay estate money or act officially except to preserve estate property.
What trips people up
- Distributee agreement does not itself waive bond. Section 401.005 still requires a court waiver application and best-interest review.
- Sole entitlement is not a zero-bond rule. Section 305.151 reduces the protected interest to creditors.
- A no-bond executor can later be bonded. Section 305.102 supplies a targeted complaint, hearing, risk findings, and removal consequence.
- A new-bond order immediately changes authority. Only preservation action remains available until approval.
Common questions
Can all distributees waive an independent executor's bond?
They may agree to waiver in the forms § 401.005 states, but the probate court must grant the application and may refuse if waiver is not in the estate's best interest.
Can deposits replace sureties?
Yes. Section 305.156 permits court-accepted personal cash or securities instead of sureties, and § 305.155 permits restricted estate deposits that reduce bond.
When does an interested person obtain a new bond?
Section 305.251 permits a written application when an existing bond is insufficient or defective or the bond and record are lost or destroyed. A different complaint under § 305.102 addresses proven risk from an executor who originally served without bond.
Statutes and sources
- Tex. Est. Code §§ 305.002-.103 — qualification, filing period, default, will and corporate exceptions, risk-based complaint, and joint bonds. Official current Chapter 305 (accessed 2026-08-29).
- Tex. Est. Code §§ 305.151-.203 and 305.251-.254 — amount, deposits, sureties, new-bond grounds, procedure, and suspension. Official current Chapter 305 (accessed 2026-08-29).
- Tex. Est. Code § 401.005 — independent-executor bond and distributee- consent waiver route. Official current Chapter 401 (accessed 2026-08-29).
The current-session pending-bill sweep found no measure that would change the bond rules summarized here.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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