Kentucky Probate Bonds for Executors, Administrators, Guardians and Conservators

Waivers, exemptions, and the guardian/conservator rules

A will can ask that no bond be required, but the court is not bound by that request. Guardian and conservator bonds work differently: their bond section, KRS 387.070, was last amended in 2005, not by the 2026 Act. No guardian or conservator may act until appointed by the proper District Court and given bond to the Commonwealth with good surety, either corporate or personal, that the District Court accepts. A limited guardian is exempt from that bond requirement.

Two other situations remove only the surety, not the bond itself. If a parent's will nominates the guardian or conservator and asks that no surety be required, no surety is required unless the District Court finds it imprudent because circumstances changed since the will was made, or for other good cause. If the District Court directs that the ward's assets go into a restricted account under KRS 387.122, the guardian or conservator is exempt from giving surety on the bond.

Note: a will-nomination with a no-surety request, or a restricted account, removes only the surety — not the bond.

Who can be surety, and where the bond is filed

A fiduciary required to execute a bond delivers it to the clerk of the court of the county in which he or she is appointed. The bond is payable to the Commonwealth and signed by the principal and sureties before a notary, in the amount and with sufficient sureties the court sets in its order of appointment. The clerk files the bond in a record kept for that purpose. On a personal representative's bond, the District Court will not accept as surety a master or other commissioner whose duty is to settle the accounts of personal representatives, a judge or clerk of a District Court, or a practicing attorney of that court. For a guardian or conservator, the surety may be corporate or personal, as the District Court accepts. If the ward's assets are placed in a restricted account, the guardian or conservator does not have to give surety on the bond. An executor's or administrator's appointment takes effect when the judge signs the order, any required bond is presented to the clerk, and you take the oath or file the declaration.

Steps

1. Apply to the District Court. File for appointment in the District Court with jurisdiction; a nonresident applicant names a resident of the county as agent for service of process in the application.
2. See whether a bond is ordered. The court decides if a bond is required — mandatory for a public administrator or curator, and otherwise at the court's discretion.
3. Obtain the bond if ordered. If the court orders a bond, you provide it in the amount the court sets; a surety issues the bond.
4. File the bond with the clerk. Deliver the bond, payable to the Commonwealth and notarized, to the clerk of the court of the county of appointment, where the clerk files it in a record.
5. Qualify. An executor's or administrator's appointment takes effect when the judge signs the order, any required bond is presented, and you take the oath or file the declaration.
6. File the inventory. File the inventory no later than 90 days from the time you qualify as personal representative.
7. Serve until the obligation ends. Carry out your duties. The court and a probate attorney have the final word on your duties and on when the bond's obligation ends.

Sources

• KRS 395.130 (Kentucky Legislative Research Commission)
• KRS 395.105
• KRS 395.140
• KRS 62.060
• KRS 395.160
• KRS 395.410
• KRS 395.380
• KRS 395.170
• KRS 395.015
• KRS 395.250
• KRS 387.070
• KRS 387.080

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