Massachusetts Executor Bond Requirement

Updated September 7, 2026. Quick answer: In Massachusetts, under the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code, a personal representative must qualify by filing a bond as a condition of receiving letters (G.L. c.190B § 3-601); unlike most other UPC states, Massachusetts does not exempt informally-appointed personal representatives from bond altogether. What can be waived is the requirement of sureties on that bond (§ 3-603).

Does Massachusetts require an executor to post a bond?

Under the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code, a personal representative must qualify by filing a bond as a condition of receiving letters (G.L. c.190B § 3-601); unlike most other UPC states, Massachusetts does not exempt informally-appointed personal representatives from bond altogether. What can be waived is the requirement of sureties on that bond (§ 3-603).

“Sureties shall be required on the bond of a personal representative unless: (i) the will directs that there be no bond or waives the requirement of surety thereon”

Source: Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 190B, §§ 3-601, 3-603

Can the will waive it in Massachusetts?

Sometimes. The will can direct that there be no bond or can waive the surety requirement on the bond, but the underlying bond-filing step under § 3-601 is otherwise standard.

Can the heirs or beneficiaries waive it in Massachusetts?

Sometimes. All heirs (intestate) or all devisees (testate) can file a written waiver of sureties; a bank/trust-company personal representative is also exempt from sureties.

If a bond is required, how much?

When a bond is required, Massachusetts sizes it at 100% of the estimated value of the personal estate plus expected annual income, per its own bond-amount statute.

“shall file a statement under oath with the court indicating the best estimate of the value of the personal estate of the decedent and shall file a bond…in an amount equal to the estimate”

Source: Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 190B, § 3-604(a)

What makes Massachusetts different

Massachusetts’ MUPC deviates from the UPC pattern most other adopting states use: rather than exempting informal personal representatives from bond entirely, it always requires a bond to be filed, and instead makes the surety the waivable piece. This is a subtler, easy-to-miss distinction from states like Michigan or Minnesota.

Every statute quoted on this page was read directly from the state’s own legislature/code site this session, or, where that site blocked automated access, from a reputable legal-citation mirror quoting the same official text with its official citation (disclosed below). General information, not legal advice; a probate court has final discretion over bond in every state; confirm your own case with the court or a local attorney before relying on the default described here.