Unless waived by a will and excuse by the court an Illinois administrator bond is required of administrators and personal representatives before letters of administration can be issued. Pursuant to Illinois Code, before undertaking the representative’s duties, every individual representative must take and file an oath or affirmation that he will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of the representative according to law and will file and have approved by the court an Illinois administrator bond binding the individual representative to do so 755 ILCS 5/12-2. The statute differentiates a “paper bond” from a “non-paper bond”, the latter being basically a written promise of the administrator. Every PAPER bond provided for in this same Article must have as security thereon not less than 2 sureties acceptable to the court or one surety company qualified to do business in this State and acceptable to the court. Typically any corporate surety company granted a certificate of authority by the Illinois Department of Insurance is acceptable for the Illinois administrator bond. Non-resident executors are never excused from the bond requirement however the State Guardian Office IS by statute.
The administrator surety bond, also referred to as an Illinois personal representative bond must be written in an amount not less than one and one half times the value of the personal estate if a surety company acts as surety. If the personal representative takes possession of the decedent’s real estate, then the surety bond must be executed in such additional amount as the court determines, having regard to the income from the real estate. The court when fixing the bond amount in a case involving the wrongful death of the decedent it is the duty of the administrator to file in and have approved by the court an Illinois administrator bond for an amount not less than one and one half times the amount likely to come into his hands as the proceeds of a judgment or settlement if a surety company acts as surety. State law allows the court to permit an administrator of multiple estates or persons of more than one ward to include his obligations to some or all in one bond and where there are two or more or more administrators of the same estate or person, the court may take a joint corporate surety bond for both. The court can direct that an executor or personal representative post increased bond amounts where either an interested party petitions the court to direct it and/or the courts deems that the Illinois personal representative bond is insufficient. This is common where real estate or valuable investments of the deceased are sold.
Illinois surety bond leader, Surety One, Inc. is one of the largest probate bond underwriters in the nation. Our underwriting solutions provide you the fiduciary bond that you need. We can offer you probate bond terms no matter what your financial condition. Visit us at SuretyOne.com, call (800) 373-2804 or email Underwriting@SuretyOne.com for an Illinois administrator bond application or information about any fiduciary bond need.
