Executor and Personal-Representative Bond Requirements in Utah
At a glance
| Governing law and default bond rule | Utah Code §§ 75-3-601 to -606. No bond by default in formal or informal probate; listed will, request, demand, and special-administrator exceptions apply, subject to court power to dispense if unnecessary (§ 75-3-603) |
|---|---|
| Covered representative and proceeding | Ordinary personal representative, including executor, in formal or informal estate administration. Special administrator without notice is an express exception but outside this ordinary-representative survey (§ 75-3-603) |
| Will waiver and limits | No will waiver is needed because no bond is default. An express will requirement makes bond due, but court may dispense with it as unnecessary; will or order may specify amount (§§ 75-3-603(1)(b), (2), 75-3-604) |
| Beneficiary, heir, or distributee waiver | No beneficiary/heir waiver is needed or stated. Interested person may request bond before appointment; qualifying interest holder may later demand it, and requirement ends if demander withdraws or ceases to be interested (§§ 75-3-603(1)(c), 75-3-605) |
| Demand and court discretion | Before appointment, interested party may request bond. After excusal, person with apparent estate interest over $5,000 or unsecured creditor claim over $5,000 may written-demand it. Personal representative or interested person may petition to excuse, increase, reduce, release sureties, or substitute bond (§§ 75-3-603 to -605) |
| Amount, property base, and reduction | Unless will/order or application/petition supplies amount, sworn estimate covers personal and real estate plus expected next-year income from both, reduced by secured claims. Restricted domestic-financial-institution assets may reduce amount; court may increase/reduce (§ 75-3-604) |
| Surety, collateral, deposits, and corporate exceptions | Bond, other suitable security, corporate surety, or 1+ individual sureties backed by pledged personalty, realty mortgage, or adequate security. Sureties jointly/severally liable unless bond says otherwise; restricted deposit may reduce. Title 7-exempt financial-institution representative needs no bond (§§ 75-3-603(1), 75-3-604, 75-3-606) |
| Nonresident and special qualification rules | No separate nonresident amount, surety, agent, or cofiduciary rule stated in §§ 75-3-601 to -606. Every accepting representative submits personally to probate-court jurisdiction for estate proceedings (§ 75-3-602) |
| Filing timing, letters, suspension, removal, and lapse | Required bond and acceptance statement precede letters. After notice of qualifying demand, representative may act only to preserve estate until bond filed or requirement ends. Suitable bond due within 30 days after notice; failure is cause for removal and successor appointment (§§ 75-3-601, 75-3-605) |
Requirements one by one
Utah starts with no bond
Under Utah Code § 75-3-603, no bond is required for an ordinary personal representative in either formal or informal proceedings. The relevant ordinary exceptions are an express bond requirement in the will, an interested party's request before appointment, or a later demand under § 75-3-605. The court may dispense with a bond required through the section if it determines bond is unnecessary.
No beneficiary, heir, or distributee waiver is needed to reach the statutory default. The section also exempts a personal representative covered by the Financial Institutions Act's bond exemption.
A will can require bond but need not waive it
Because no bond is the default, a silent will does not create a bond duty. The will must expressly require one. Even then, § 75-3-603(2) lets the court dispense with the requirement as unnecessary, while § 75-3-604 lets the will or court order specify the amount.
Pre-appointment requests and later demands are distinct
Section 75-3-603(1)(c) recognizes an interested party's request made before appointment. The later written-demand route in § 75-3-605 applies after bond has been excused and sets a threshold: an apparently interested person must have an estate interest over $5,000, or an unsecured creditor must have a claim over $5,000.
The demand is filed with the registrar and, if appointment and qualification already occurred, copied to the representative. It stops being effective when the demander withdraws or ceases to be interested.
The amount uses property, next-year income, and secured claims
If the will, order, application, or petition does not supply the amount, § 75-3-604 requires a sworn best estimate of personal and real estate plus income expected from both during the next year. The security must be at least that estimate minus secured claims against the property.
Estate assets deposited with a domestic financial institution to prevent unauthorized disposition may reduce the amount. On the representative's or another interested person's petition, the court may excuse bond, increase or reduce it, release sureties, or substitute another bond with the same or different sureties.
Several forms of security are recognized
Section 75-3-604 permits a bond or other suitable security. A bond may use a corporate surety or one or more individual sureties whose performance is backed by pledged personal property, a real-property mortgage, or other adequate security.
Under § 75-3-606(1), the bond names Utah as obligee for interested persons and secures faithful discharge of legal duties. Unless the approved bond says otherwise, the representative and sureties are jointly and severally liable, and an executing surety submits to probate-court jurisdiction.
Demand notice restricts authority and starts a 30-day clock
Under § 75-3-601, any required bond and the acceptance statement must be filed before letters. If a representative receives notice of a qualifying later demand, § 75-3-605 restricts the office to acts necessary to preserve the estate until bond is filed or the requirement ends.
Failure to give suitable bond within 30 days after notice is cause for removal and appointment of a successor. The statute makes it cause for a court order, not automatic termination on day 30.
Residence does not change the formula
Under §§ 75-3-601 to 75-3-602, every accepting representative submits personally to court jurisdiction. The bond provisions state no extra amount, resident agent, resident cosurety, or separate qualification bond for a nonresident.
What trips people up
- A pre-appointment request and a later threshold demand are separate routes.
- After a later demand, the representative may preserve the estate but cannot continue ordinary administration until compliance or cessation.
- The 30-day consequence is statutory cause for removal, not self-executing loss of office.
Common questions
Can a will guarantee that bond will be required?
No. An express will requirement triggers bond, but § 75-3-603 lets the court dispense with it when bond is unnecessary.
Can an unsecured creditor demand bond?
Yes, if the unsecured claim exceeds $5,000 and the other § 75-3-605 filing and notice requirements are met.
May the court replace a surety or reduce the amount?
Yes. Section 75-3-604 expressly allows excuse, increase, reduction, release of sureties, and substitution on the representative's or another interested person's petition.
Statutes and sources
- Utah Code §§ 75-3-601 to -606 — qualification, no-bond default, exceptions, amount, security, interested-person and creditor demands, restricted authority, removal consequence, and bond terms — https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title75/Chapter3/C75-3_1800010118000101.pdf — accessed 2026-08-29.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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