California Conservatorship Bond
Before Letters of Conservatorship issue, a California court runs a formula on the conservatee's own estate — Probate Code §2320(c) plus the cost-of-recovery tiers in California Rules of Court, rule 7.207 — to fix your bond. It is not negotiable the way an executor bond can be waived, and it is not a flat number. Run your figures through the calculator below to see exactly how the court gets there.
How much is a California conservatorship bond?
There is no flat amount. Under Probate Code §2320(c), the court adds the conservatee's personal property, probable annual income, and any real property you have independent power to sell — then rule 7.207(b) tacks on a cost-of-recovery surcharge of 10% of the first $500,000, 12% of the next $500,000, and 2% above $1,000,000. A $436,000 base carries roughly a $479,600 bond.
Rule 7.207(b) cost-of-recovery surcharge, by tier
Applied on top of the personal property + real property + income base — not cumulative percentages
First $500,000 of base
10%
Covers the estate up to $500,000.
$500,000 – $1,000,000
12%
Applies only to the slice between $500K and $1M.
Above $1,000,000
2%
Applies only to the amount over $1M.
Cal. Rules of Court, rule 7.207(b) — the cost of recovery to collect on the bond, including attorney's fees and costs, required under Probate Code §2320(c)(4).
Two pieces trip people up. First, real property only counts if you have independent power to sell it under Probate Code §§2590 and 2591(d) — real estate that still needs separate court approval to sell stays out of the bond entirely. Second, given by personal (individual) sureties instead of an admitted surety insurer, §2320(d) doubles the whole figure — functionally the same penalty decedent estates face under §8482(c). For how a carrier prices the resulting premium, see what determines your surety bond cost.
Can the court waive or reduce the bond?
Only for a specific reason, and it is harder than it sounds. Probate Code §2321 bars the court from waiving or reducing a conservatorship bond without finding good cause and finding the conservatee will not be harmed. Critically, the statute says a bond you already posted in another proceeding is not, by itself, good cause — a rule decedent-estate executors never face.
Waiving a fiduciary bond: decedent estates vs. conservatorships
Why a conservatorship bond survives where an executor bond gets waived on paper alone
| Fiduciary bond | Can the court waive it? | What it actually takes |
|---|---|---|
| Executor / administrator (decedent estate) | Routinely — most wills waive it | A will provision, or every beneficiary signing Judicial Council form DE-142 (Prob. Code §8481) |
| Conservator / guardian of the estate | Rarely, and never automatically | A specific court finding of good cause AND that the conservatee will not be harmed — a bond filed in a prior case is not good cause by itself (Prob. Code §2321) |
California treats protective-proceeding bonds as structurally harder to waive than decedent-estate bonds — the conservatee, unlike estate beneficiaries, cannot sign a waiver for themselves. See our California probate bond guide for the full §8481 will-and-beneficiary waiver route.
Is there a way to avoid the bond entirely?
Two narrow paths. Probate Code §2323, tied to the small-estate simplified-accounting rule in §2628(a), lets the court dispense with the bond entirely when the estate — excluding the conservatee's residence — stays under $15,000 net value and $2,000/month income. Separately, §2322 exempts a conservator of the person only, with no authority over the estate, from bonding at all.
The small-estate exemption (§2323)
If the estate qualifies for the simplified accounting threshold under §2628(a) — under $15,000 net and under $2,000/month income, with income spent for the conservatee's benefit — the court may waive the bond outright. It is not automatic and it is reversible: if the estate later grows past those numbers, the court must require a bond unless §2321 good cause is separately shown.
Conservator of the person only (§2322)
A conservator appointed solely over the conservatee's person — healthcare and living arrangements, no control over money or property — does not need a bond unless the court specifically orders one. The bond exists to protect the estate; with no estate authority, there is nothing to secure.
What if the conservatee's estate changes after the bond is set?
You have an affirmative duty to act, not a passive one. Probate Code §2320.1 requires the conservator — and the attorney of record, if any — to file an ex parte application to increase the bond the moment you know or should know the bond on file is less than what §2320 currently requires. An inheritance, a litigation settlement, or selling real property you have independent authority over can all trigger it.
This is a real exposure most guides skip: waiting for the court's annual accounting to catch an undersized bond is not a defense. §2320.1 puts the burden on you and your attorney to move first. Send us the new figure and we handle the rider before it becomes a compliance problem.
Does a blocked account still lower the bond?
Yes — through a different statute than the one decedent estates use. Probate Code §2328 lets the court exclude property deposited with a bank or trust company under §§2453–2456 from the bond calculation entirely, or reduce a bond already fixed, once the funds cannot be withdrawn without a court order.
The tradeoff is liquidity: the conservatee's money in a blocked account is not available for routine expenses without going back to court, so most conservators blocked-account the portion of the estate they do not need to touch monthly. Run the “already in a blocked account” field in the calculator above to see the effect on your figure.
Filing the bond on your Letters of Conservatorship
Read the figure off your Order
The judge fixes the bond in the Order Appointing Probate Conservator (Judicial Council form GC-340) — the §2320(c) base plus the rule 7.207(b) surcharge. If it is not signed yet, run the calculator above from your estimated figures.
Confirm the county and case number
Each of California's 58 superior courts is the obligee for its own case. We match the bond to your court's accepted form.
Apply with the conservator's details
A quick review of the proposed conservator's credit and relationship to the conservatee. Family conservators without professional fiduciary experience are routinely approved.
File the executed bond before Letters issue
Probate Code §2320(a) makes the bond a precondition — Letters of Conservatorship (form GC-350) do not issue until it is on file with the court.
Update it when the estate moves
An inheritance, a real-property sale, or a new income source can trigger the §2320.1 duty to increase. Send us the change and we file the rider.
Have your Order Appointing Probate Conservator or an estate estimate? We write the bond to the exact figure and file it with your county's superior court.
Start my conservatorship bond quoteWhat the statute actually says
Official California Requirements
"Every person appointed as guardian or conservator shall, before letters are issued, give a bond approved by the court."California Legislative Information • Cal. Probate Code § 2320(a)
The bond runs “for the benefit of the ward or conservatee and all persons interested in the guardianship or conservatorship estate,” conditioned on faithful execution of the office (§2320(b)). A claim arises when a conservator breaches that duty and the conservatee's estate loses money — self-dealing, missed accountings, or spending outside court-approved purposes. California's general Bond and Undertaking Law, Code of Civil Procedure §995.010 et seq., governs how those claims proceed. Read how to avoid a surety bond claim for the accounting habits that keep conservators out of trouble.
Related California and probate bonds
Conservatorship matters often touch these bonds and hubs too:
What conservators ask about this bond
Is a California conservatorship bond the same thing as a guardianship bond?
They run on the same statute. Probate Code §2320(c) and California Rules of Court, rule 7.207 set the bond formula for both a conservator of an adult's estate and a guardian of a minor's estate — same personal-property-plus-income base, same 10%/12%/2% cost-of-recovery tiers. This page is written for adult conservatorships specifically; if you are bonding a minor's estate, our guardianship bond guide covers the parts unique to guardianships nationwide.
Does a conservator of the person (not the estate) need a bond?
No, not by default. Probate Code §2322 says a person appointed only as guardian of the person or conservator of the person does not need to file a bond unless the court specifically orders one. The bond exists to protect the conservatee's money and property — if you have no authority over the estate, there is nothing for the bond to secure. Courts appoint a bond only when the same person or a co-conservator also holds estate authority.
What happens if the conservatee inherits money or their assets grow after the bond is set?
You are required to act, not wait for the court to notice. Probate Code §2320.1 puts the fiduciary — and the attorney of record, if any — under an affirmative duty: once you know or should know the bond on file is less than what §2320 now requires, you must make an ex parte application to increase it. Selling real property you have independent authority over works the same way; get ahead of it before escrow needs the higher figure.
Can family members skip the bond just because they are trustworthy?
No — and this is where conservatorships diverge sharply from decedent-estate bonds. Probate Code §2321 bars the court from waiving or reducing a conservatorship bond without a specific finding of good cause and a finding that the conservatee will not be harmed. The statute goes further and says having posted bond in another or prior proceeding does not, by itself, count as good cause. Compare that to an executor bond, which a will can waive with one sentence.
Is there any estate small enough that no bond is required at all?
Yes, but the bar is low. Probate Code §2323 lets the court dispense with the bond entirely if the estate will qualify for simplified accounting under §2628(a): a net value under $15,000 (excluding the conservatee's residence) and monthly income under $2,000, with all income spent for the conservatee's benefit. If the estate later grows past those thresholds, the court must require a bond unless good cause under §2321 is separately shown.
Does an LPS (mental health) conservatorship use this same bond?
Not automatically — LPS conservatorships proceed under the Welfare and Institutions Code rather than the Probate Code Division 4 framework this page covers. When a private party (rather than the county's public conservator office) is appointed as an LPS conservator of the estate, the bond is typically set through the same probate court bond process described here. Confirm which track applies with the court investigator assigned to your case before you calculate a figure.
All content is researched from official state and federal sources (.gov) and verified before publication. BuySuretyBonds.com works with Treasury-certified, A-minimum rated surety carriers serving all 50 states.
General information, not legal, tax, or underwriting advice. California conservatorship bond amounts, waivers, and exemptions are set by statute (Cal. Probate Code §§2320–2335, §2628(a)) and the California Rules of Court (rule 7.207), and they change over time. Confirm the current requirement with the superior court handling your matter, and request a quote for your specific bond form and amount.
Bond the amount your court sets — and get your Letters issued
Give us your county, the conservatee's estate figures, or the amount on your Order Appointing Probate Conservator. We write the bond to the court's exact penal sum and file it the same day — free quote, no obligation.
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