Connecticut Probate Bond Requirements

Connecticut starts from yes. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-289(a) says a probate bond shall be required of an executor unless the bond is excused as provided by law, and § 45a-303(d) tells the court to take a probate bond from the administrator of every intestate estate. The open question in your case is whether the judge excuses that bond, since the statute already asks for one.

The judge who decides that question is local. Section 45a-2 splits Connecticut into 54 probate districts and assigns each of the 169 towns to one of them, so your bond is set in the district covering the town where the decedent lived. Read this next to the Connecticut executor duties guide for the rest of the qualifying sequence, and use the Connecticut Probate Court directory to find the district that holds the file.

Does Connecticut Require an Executor Bond?

Yes, unless something in the law lifts the requirement. Section 45a-289(a) runs one sentence: a probate bond shall be required of an executor, unless such bond is excused as provided by law (§ 45a-289). Intestate estates get the same treatment in stronger words. Section 45a-303(d) says the court, upon granting any administration, shall take a probate bond from the administrator or any successor administrator it appoints (§ 45a-303).

That same section prices the refusal. Administration goes to the surviving spouse, then a child, a grandchild, the parents, a sibling, and the next of kin entitled to share, but a person who refuses, lacks capacity, or fails to give bond drops out of the order and the court may appoint someone else. Read the appointment order alongside the Connecticut intestate succession guide, because the people in line for the estate are the same people in line for the job.

Connecticut defines the instrument itself in § 45a-139(a): a bond with security given to secure the faithful performance by an appointed fiduciary of the duties of the fiduciary's trust and the administration of and accounting for all moneys and other property coming into the fiduciary's hands, as fiduciary, according to law (§ 45a-139). Subsection (b) makes the bond payable to the state, sets the amount and the security by the judge of probate under rules of court, and adds the line that governs your calendar: if bond is required of a fiduciary, the appointment is not effective until the bond has been accepted by the Court of Probate.

Copy that says a bond is optional until an heir asks for one is describing a uniform-act state. Connecticut asks first and excuses second.

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How a Connecticut Bond Gets Excused

The excusing rules live in the Probate Court Rules of Procedure, published by the Office of the Probate Court Administrator. Section 35.1(a) tells the court to require a bond whenever a statute or a governing instrument requires one. Section 35.1(b) then lists what lets a judge excuse it.

Situation	Authority	Bond result
Estate assets under $20,000, or under $10,000 once restricted funds come out	§ 45a-139(c), rule 35.1(b)(1)	Court may excuse
Fiduciary is a corporate fiduciary	Rule 35.1(b)(2)	Court may excuse
Will or other governing instrument excuses bond	§ 45a-289(b), rule 35.1(b)(3)(A)	Court may excuse
Each heir or beneficiary waives the bond in writing	Rule 35.1(b)(3)(B), form PC-280	Court may excuse
Voluntary conservatorship, petitioner waives	Rule 35.1(b)(5)	Court may excuse
Involuntary conservatorship, respondent excused bond in a § 45a-645 designation	Rule 35.1(b)(6)	Court may excuse
Court finds a bond needed for parties, creditors, taxes, or expenses	Rule 35.1(c)	Bond required anyway

Two figures carry the small-estate route. Section 45a-139(c) lets a judge waive the bond when the assets of the estate are less than twenty thousand dollars, or when the amount of the estate that is not restricted by Probate Court order is less than ten thousand dollars. The second number is the one families miss: park the cash where the court controls it and the unrestricted balance can fall under the line.

Section 35.1(c) keeps the door open at every stage. On a motion by a party or on its own motion, the court may require a bond when it decides one is needed to protect parties or creditors or to assure the payment of taxes or administration expenses. A waiver signed in June does not settle the question in December.

What the Will Can and Cannot Do

Section 45a-289(b) handles the will that names an executor and directs no bond, or a bond of a certain amount only. The court follows those provisions if no objection to them has been filed. File an objection, or let the court determine that for cause shown a bond is necessary for the protection of creditors or to assure the payment of succession taxes, and the bond must be at least the greatest of these three figures:

twice the amount of the debts of the deceased as estimated by the court
the amount of the tax on any untaxed property plus the succession tax as estimated by the court
the amount named in the will

Heirs do not have to discover that right on their own. Section 30.5(b)(3) of the Probate Court Rules makes the court's notice of a grant of administration state whether the administrator must submit a bond and advise the heirs of their right to request one, and section 30.6(b)(3) puts the same statement in the notice admitting a will to probate. Expect a beneficiary who reads that notice to call the clerk.

The cheapest version of this problem gets solved years earlier, in the drafting. One sentence excusing bond in the will keeps an estate off a surety company's books. The Connecticut will requirements guide covers what belongs in the document.

How Much the Bond Is

Section 35.6(a) sets the default amount: the value of the assets under the control of the fiduciary plus anticipated additional receipts of income or assets during the applicable accounting period. Section 35.6(b) lists five ways the number comes down.

The fiduciary has no power to sell or mortgage real property, so the court may subtract the value of that real property.
Assets go into a restricted account, so the court may subtract the restricted value.
All heirs or all beneficiaries of a decedent's estate request a smaller bond, and the court may order the amount they asked for.
The fiduciary is an heir or beneficiary, so the court may subtract that person's own share.
The court has approved a structured settlement, so the bond may cover only the funds expected during the accounting period.

A restricted account is the practical lever. Under section 35.7 the fiduciary and a bank the court approves sign the agreement in the exact form the probate court administrator publishes, and no disbursement leaves the account without the court's written approval. The court holds the appointment decree until that signed agreement is filed, and the fiduciary submits proof of deposit within ten days of receiving any asset or income.

Two reporting duties follow the money after that. Section 35.8(a) makes a bonded fiduciary file a report within 30 days when new assets, income, and capital gain add up to more than ten percent of the bond amount or $50,000, whichever is greater. Section 35.9 lets the court require a bond or change its amount at an inventory, an account, a financial report, or any other time, and it blocks a decree authorizing a real property sale until a bond the court ordered for that sale is on file. Check the bond against the estate again once the personal property is paid out, because premium tracks the amount.

Buying the Bond and Filing It

Read the decree first. It says whether a bond is required and what amount the court set. Section 35.2 keeps the appointment decree and the probate certificate in the clerk's hands until the bond is filed, so nothing moves before this step.
Settle the waiver question. Gather signatures on form PC-280 from every heir or beneficiary, or point the court to the clause in the will. A waiver signed by everyone costs nothing and closes the issue.
Go to a corporate surety. Section 35.3(a) requires a corporate surety on any probate bond filed on or after the rule's effective date. Personal-surety bonds filed before that date stand, though the court may order a corporate surety substituted when a personal surety stops looking like adequate security.
Use the published form. Section 35.4 puts the bond on a form published by the probate court administrator, which is form PC-480. Co-fiduciaries file a single bond covering all of them under section 35.5.
Pay the premium as an estate expense. Connecticut publishes no premium schedule, because the rate comes from the surety rather than the court. Expect the surety to price the bond amount, the mix of assets, and your credit. Budget the premium next to the court's own charges in what probate costs in Connecticut, since both come out of the estate.

One local rule saves a phone call. Section 45a-140 bars a judge of probate and any officer or employee of a Probate Court from acting as surety or from issuing a probate bond, personally or as an agent for a bonding company. Nobody at the counter can sell you the bond. The court files and records what you bring in under § 45a-142.

What the Bond Covers and Who Can Sue On It

The condition of the bond is faithful performance plus accounting. Form PC-480 binds the principal and the surety jointly and severally to pay the State of Connecticut the penal sum written on the bond, and voids that obligation only when the fiduciary performs the duties of the position of trust and accounts for all moneys and other property according to law.

Three sections give interested people something to do with that promise.

A direct action. Under § 45a-144(a), a person claiming to be aggrieved by the breach of a probate bond may bring an action in the Superior Court or apply to the Probate Court where the bond was given (§ 45a-144). The judge may order the case maintained for everyone interested in the estate, and the person bringing it posts a bond of their own conditioned on accounting for what they recover. Section 35.12 of the rules sends notice of the hearing to each party and attorney of record and to the surety by certified mail.
An audit and a removal. Under § 45a-143, the surety or any person interested in the bond may ask the court to order the fiduciary to exhibit the condition of the estate in writing, so the court can see whether it is being managed properly. Refuse the order, or fail the review, and the court removes the fiduciary and appoints another.
A swap that does not erase the past. Section 45a-141 lets the principal or the surety apply for a new bond. The original surety walks away only from breaches committed after the court approves the replacement.

None of that trades away your own exposure. The surety signs next to you, not instead of you, and a paid claim starts a conversation with the fiduciary who caused it. The Connecticut creditor claims guide covers the 150-day window that produces most of these disputes.

Bonds for Other Connecticut Fiduciaries

The bond rules reach past executors, and the wording changes from section to section.

Temporary administrator. When a court appoints someone to hold and preserve an estate before administration is granted, § 45a-316 says the court shall require a probate bond from that administrator.
Estate examiner. Section 45a-317a lets the court appoint an examiner to pull financial or medical records for a limited purpose, and the court may require a probate bond or waive it.
Conservator. Section 45a-650(i) says the court shall require a probate bond when it appoints a conservator of the estate, and may require a bond from a conservator of the person if it considers that necessary for the protection of the respondent (§ 45a-650).
Guardian of a minor's estate. Section 45a-629(b) closes with a flat sentence: any guardian so appointed shall give a probate bond. Section 45a-634 then requires an inventory of the ward's property within two months of accepting the trust, and fines a late guardian not more than twenty dollars.

Anyone naming a guardian or a conservator in advance should read those two sections next to the Connecticut guardianship planning guide, since a written designation under § 45a-645 is what excuses the bond in an involuntary conservatorship.

The Small-Estate Path Takes No Bond

Section 45a-273 settles an estate without a will being probated and without letters of administration (§ 45a-273). It applies when the aggregate value of the decedent's solely owned tangible and intangible personal property, leaving out property that passes outside probate by operation of law, does not exceed forty thousand dollars, and the decedent held no solely owned real property in Connecticut at death. The surviving spouse files the affidavit, or the next of kin, or a person the court finds has a sufficient interest.

No fiduciary is appointed on that track, so no probate bond is taken and no surety is involved. Section 45a-275 sets the limit on it: the affidavit route applies only to estates where no will is presented for probate and no application for administration is filed within thirty days after the death. Compare the two paths in the Connecticut probate guide before you file, and check the dates in the Connecticut probate timeline.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Connecticut require an executor to post a probate bond?

Yes, by default. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-289(a) says a probate bond shall be required of an executor unless the bond is excused as provided by law, and § 45a-303(d) tells the court to take a probate bond from every administrator it appoints. Section 35.1 of the Probate Court Rules of Procedure then lists the situations in which a judge may excuse it, so the real question is whether your Probate Court excuses the bond rather than whether the statute asks for one.

How do you get a Connecticut probate bond excused?

Section 35.1(b) of the Probate Court Rules of Procedure lets a judge excuse the bond when the estate falls under the dollar figures in § 45a-139(c), when the fiduciary is a corporate fiduciary, when the will or other governing instrument excuses bond, or when each heir or beneficiary of a decedent's estate waives the requirement. Heirs and beneficiaries sign that waiver on form PC-280. Under section 35.1(c) the court may still order a bond to protect parties or creditors or to assure payment of taxes or administration expenses.

How much is a Connecticut probate bond?

Section 35.6(a) of the Probate Court Rules of Procedure sets the amount at the value of the assets under the control of the fiduciary plus anticipated additional receipts of income or assets during the applicable accounting period. Section 35.6(b) lets the court go lower for real property the fiduciary cannot sell or mortgage, for assets held in a restricted account, for a smaller figure all heirs or beneficiaries request, and for the fiduciary's own share of the estate.

Can an heir demand a bond in Connecticut when the will waives it?

An heir or beneficiary can object and ask, and the court decides. Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-289(b) the court follows a will that directs no bond only when no objection has been filed. Once an objection lands, or the court finds cause to protect creditors or assure payment of succession taxes, the bond must be at least the greatest of twice the estimated debts, the estimated tax on untaxed property plus the succession tax, or the amount named in the will.

Does a Connecticut conservator or guardian have to post a bond?

A conservator of the estate does. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-650(i) says the court shall require a probate bond when it appoints a conservator of the estate, and it may require one from a conservator of the person if it considers that necessary to protect the respondent. A guardian appointed over a minor's estate shall give a probate bond under § 45a-629(b), then file an inventory within two months under § 45a-634.

Does the Connecticut small estate affidavit require a bond?

No. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-273 settles an estate without letters of administration when the decedent's solely owned personal property runs to $40,000 or less and there is no solely owned Connecticut real property. Nobody is appointed as a fiduciary on that track, so no probate bond is taken. Section 45a-275 limits the affidavit to estates where no will is presented and no application for administration is filed within 30 days after the death.

Sources:

Title: Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 45a-289, When bond required of executor. Amount of bond. Reduction of bond. Publisher: Connecticut General Assembly. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_802b.htm#sec_45a-289
Title: Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 45a-303, Jurisdiction of intestate estates. Probate costs. Issuance of letters of administration. Publisher: Connecticut General Assembly. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_802b.htm#sec_45a-303
Title: Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 45a-139, Probate bonds. Waiver, when. Publisher: Connecticut General Assembly. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_801b.htm#sec_45a-139
Title: Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 45a-144, Action on probate bond by aggrieved person. Publisher: Connecticut General Assembly. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_801b.htm#sec_45a-144
Title: Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 45a-273, Settlement of small estates without probate of will or letters of administration. Publisher: Connecticut General Assembly. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_802b.htm#sec_45a-273
Title: Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 45a-650, Hearing on petition for involuntary representation. Evidence. Appointment of conservator. Limitation re powers and duties. Probate bond. Publisher: Connecticut General Assembly. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_802h.htm#sec_45a-650
Title: Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 45a-629, Appointment of guardian for minor's estate. Publisher: Connecticut General Assembly. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_802h.htm#sec_45a-629
Title: Probate Court Rules of Procedure, 2026, Rule 35, Probate Bonds. Publisher: Office of the Probate Court Administrator, State of Connecticut. Publication Date: 2026. URL: https://www.ctprobate.gov/Documents/Probate%20Court%20Rules%20of%20Procedure.pdf
Title: Probate Bond, form PC-480. Publisher: Connecticut Probate Courts. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://www.ctprobate.gov/Forms/PC-480.pdf
Title: Bond Waiver, form PC-280. Publisher: Connecticut Probate Courts. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://www.ctprobate.gov/Forms/PC-280.pdf

It is not legal advice.