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Illinois Executor Bond Requirements
Support GuideIllinois13 min read

Illinois Executor Bond Requirements

Illinois executor bond: an individual representative files an oath and a court-approved bond under 755 ILCS 5/12-2 unless the will excuses security.

By Settled Editorial

Every individual representative of an Illinois estate takes an oath and files a bond that the circuit court approves before undertaking the duties of the office. That rule sits in 755 ILCS 5/12-2. A will can excuse the security on the bond, and when it does, the bond still binds the representative in the statutory amount without any written instrument. Illinois does not let a will erase the obligation. It lets a will remove the paperwork and the surety behind it.

That distinction confuses most first-time executors, so this guide walks the whole Article XII sequence: who files a bond, what a will waiver actually buys, how the court sizes the penal amount, who can sign as surety, when a nonresident executor gets bonded over the will's objection, and what happens when the estate sells real estate mid-administration.

The Oath and Bond Come Before the Duties

Under 755 ILCS 5/12-2(a), before undertaking the representative's duties, every individual representative files an oath or affirmation to faithfully discharge the office according to law, and files in and has approved by the court a bond binding the representative to do so. Read the sequence literally. The bond is not a later filing you catch up on. It is part of qualifying, and the circuit court clerk handles it alongside the petition and the order appointing you.

Independent administration does not change this step. When the court grants independent administration under 755 ILCS 5/28-2, you act without routine court approval on most decisions, but Article XII still reaches every individual representative. Ask the clerk in the county where the estate is open what the judge expects on the bond before your hearing, because the order appointing you and the bond usually move together. Your county's filing desk is listed on the Illinois circuit court directory, and the wider sequence sits in the Illinois probate guide.

What a Will Waiver Actually Does

755 ILCS 5/12-4(a) says no security is required of a person whom the will excuses from giving bond or security, and no greater security than the will specifies is required. That is a waiver of security, not a waiver of the bond.

755 ILCS 5/12-2(b) completes the picture. Where the will excuses bond or security, the bond of the representative, in the amount required from time to time under Article XII, stays in full force and effect without writing, unless the court requires a written bond. So a waiver clause means you sign no bond document and pay no surety company. You remain personally obligated on an unwritten bond sized by statute, and a beneficiary or creditor harmed by your handling of the estate can still reach it.

Two exceptions in 755 ILCS 5/12-4(a) let the court require security anyway, whatever the will says:

  • The court, from its own knowledge or on the suggestion of any interested person, has cause to suspect the representative of fraud or incompetence.
  • The court believes the estate will not be sufficient to discharge all the claims against it.

An insolvent or contested estate is the setting where a waiver clause quietly stops working. If beneficiaries are already fighting, or the claims look larger than the assets, expect the judge to ask for real security. The claims side of that math is covered in the Illinois creditor claims guide.

How the Court Sizes the Bond

755 ILCS 5/12-5(a) sets the penal amount off the personal estate, not the total estate:

  • Not less than double the value of the personal estate if individuals act as sureties, or if bond or security is excused.
  • Not less than 1 1/2 times the value of the personal estate if a surety company acts as surety.
  • An additional amount the court determines, having regard to the income from the real estate, if the representative takes possession of the decedent's real estate.

Notice which multiplier attaches to a will waiver. An excused bond is sized at double the personal estate, the same as the individual-surety figure, not at the friendlier corporate rate. The waiver reduces cost and paperwork. It does not shrink the number you are on the hook for.

Example. An estate holds $180,000 in bank and brokerage accounts and no real estate the representative takes over. With a qualified surety company signing, the bond runs at least $270,000. With two individual sureties, or with security excused by the will, it runs at least $360,000.

755 ILCS 5/12-5(b) handles the odd asset. A cause of action for the decedent's wrongful death counts as a value of $500 while the court fixes the bond. Once a judgment or settlement is in sight, the representative files a bond for at least double the amount likely to reach their hands, or 1 1/2 times that amount with a surety company, unless the court excuses it.

There is a way to shrink the number. Under 755 ILCS 5/12-7, the representative can petition to deposit part or all of the personal estate for safekeeping with a corporation qualified to accept and execute trusts in Illinois, subject to further order of the court. The court may then reduce the bond so it covers only the estate still in the representative's hands.

Who Can Sign as Surety

755 ILCS 5/12-3 gives two paths. Every bond under Article XII carries either not less than two individual sureties acceptable to the court, or one surety company qualified to do business in Illinois and acceptable to the court. Either way, the court decides who is acceptable, so a willing relative is not automatically approved.

Corporate representatives sit outside the whole regime. 755 ILCS 5/12-1 exempts corporations qualified to administer trusts in Illinois from the bonds required by the Probate Act, other than appeal bonds. A corporate representative files an acceptance of office in the court instead. Naming a bank or trust company is the one route that removes the bond question rather than softening it.

When two or more people serve together, 755 ILCS 5/12-8(b) lets the court take a separate bond with sureties from each, or a joint bond from both. Ask which the judge prefers before you buy anything, since co-executors sometimes pay twice by guessing.

Nonresident Executors Face a Separate Rule

Residency is where a waiver clause most often fails. 755 ILCS 5/6-13(d) lets the court, in its discretion, require a nonresident executor to post a bond in the amount and with the surety the court determines, even where the will provides otherwise. 755 ILCS 5/12-4(a) carries that carve-out forward by opening with an exception for nonresident executors under Section 6-13.

If you live outside Illinois and the will excuses bond, treat the waiver as a request rather than a settled answer. Call the clerk, confirm what the judge has done recently on out-of-state executors, and price a surety bond before your hearing so a bond order does not stall your Letters of Office. The rest of the qualification sequence is in the Illinois executor duties guide.

What a Bond Costs and Who Pays

A bond costs nothing when the will excuses security, because no company signs it. Cost arrives with a corporate surety, which charges an annual premium set as a percentage of the penal amount after underwriting the applicant's credit and the estate's size. 755 ILCS 5/12-11(d) assumes that annual cycle: it gives a surety company a route to terminate its liability when a representative fails to pay the annual premium within 120 days of notice, with liability ending 60 days after a certified-mail notice to the representative and all interested parties, after which the court requires a new bond.

Example. If a surety quotes 0.5% a year on a $270,000 bond, the premium runs about $1,350 for the first year, and roughly $2,025 across an 18-month administration.

A probate bond premium is an administration expense of the estate, so compare quotes from two or three sureties before you commit, and keep the receipts with your other administration costs. The timing of those payments against the claim classes is covered in the Illinois debt payment priority guide.

Selling Real Estate Triggers More Bond

Real estate the representative merely leaves alone stays outside the bond math. Selling or mortgaging it does not. Under 755 ILCS 5/12-9(a), at or before the entry of an order authorizing a sale or mortgage of real estate, and before a representative sells or mortgages real estate under a power in the will or under 755 ILCS 5/28-8(i), the representative files a bond and has it approved by the court.

The additional bond runs at not less than double the value of the personal estate likely to reach the representative as proceeds, or 1 1/2 times that value with a surety company, under 755 ILCS 5/12-9(c). The bond identifies the specific property being sold or mortgaged. Where the will excused bond or security, 755 ILCS 5/12-9(d) increases the unwritten bond by double the proceeds as they come in, unless the court requires a written additional bond.

Example. A house sells for $300,000 net to the estate. The additional bond runs about $450,000 with a surety company, or about $600,000 where individuals sign or the will excused security.

The Court Keeps Checking

The bond is reviewed for the life of the estate. 755 ILCS 5/12-10(a) lets the court require a proper bond or security, on the petition of any interested person or on its own motion, when letters issued without sufficient bond or when the existing bond becomes excessive or insufficient. 755 ILCS 5/12-10(b) makes it the court's duty to inquire into the sufficiency of the bond and its security at every accounting other than the final one.

Two related sections round out the picture. Under 755 ILCS 5/12-11, a surety who believes the representative is insolvent or in doubtful circumstances can ask for counter security, and a surety seeking release generally forces the representative to settle accounts and post a new bond first. Under 755 ILCS 5/12-13, a new or additional bond, other than one for a real estate sale or mortgage, relates back to the date the letters issued, so the replacement covers the whole administration rather than starting fresh.

Save your bond paperwork with the order appointing you. When you file each account, verify that the penal amount still covers what you hold, and raise it yourself if the estate grew.

Common Questions

Can an Illinois will waive the executor bond entirely?

A will can excuse security, not the obligation. Under 755 ILCS 5/12-2(b), where the will excuses bond or security, the bond stays in full force and effect without writing in the statutory amount, unless the court requires a written bond. You sign nothing and pay no surety, and you remain answerable on the bond.

How much is an Illinois probate bond?

755 ILCS 5/12-5(a) sets it at not less than double the value of the personal estate when individuals act as sureties or when security is excused, and not less than 1 1/2 times the personal estate when a surety company signs. The court adds an amount for real estate income if the representative takes possession of the property.

Does an out-of-state executor need a bond in Illinois?

Often. 755 ILCS 5/6-13(d) lets the court require a nonresident executor to post bond in the amount and with the surety it determines, even where the will provides otherwise. Confirm the local practice with the circuit court clerk before your hearing.

Do banks and trust companies post a bond?

No. 755 ILCS 5/12-1 exempts corporations qualified to administer trusts in Illinois from the bonds required by the Probate Act, other than appeal bonds. A corporate representative files an acceptance of office in the court instead.

What happens if the estate sells the house?

755 ILCS 5/12-9 requires an additional bond before the sale or mortgage closes, sized at double the likely proceeds with individual sureties or 1 1/2 times with a surety company. Where the will excused security, the unwritten bond rises by double the proceeds unless the court asks for a written bond.

This guide is general information about Illinois estates. It is not legal advice. Confirm anything that affects your situation with the clerk of the circuit court or a licensed Illinois attorney.

Sources:

It is not legal advice.

Information current as of July 19, 2026

Settled Estate is not a law firm, and this content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Probate laws and procedures in Illinois can change. Consult with a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. Full disclaimer.

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