Updated September 7, 2026. Quick answer: In Michigan, under Michigan’s Estates and Protected Individuals Code, bond is NOT required by default for a personal representative appointed in informal proceedings, except when a special personal representative is appointed, the will expressly requires bond, or bond is demanded under § 700.3605. In formal proceedings, a court may order bond but generally must not if the will relieves the PR of bond.
Michigan executor bond: what the statute says
Each line is a short extract quoted from the statute cited; the section has the exceptions.
- When a bond is required. MCL 700.3603(1): “A bond is not required of a personal representative appointed in informal proceedings, except in any of the following circumstances: (a) A special personal representative is appointed. (b) The personal representative is appointed to administer an estate under a will containing an express requirement of bond. (c) Bond is required under section 3605.”
- Waiver. MCL 700.3603(2): “The court shall not order bond of the personal representative in the formal proceeding if the will relieves the personal representative of bond, unless an interested person requests bond and the court is satisfied that bond is desirable.”
- Amount. MCL 700.3604: “If bond is required and the provisions of the will or order do not specify the amount…” “…and shall execute and file a bond with the register, or give other suitable security, in an amount not less than the estimate…”
- Surety and cost. MCL 700.3604: “…bond is duly executed by a corporate surety…”
For the rest of the process and its fees, see Michigan probate cost.
Does Michigan require an executor to post a bond?
Under Michigan’s Estates and Protected Individuals Code, bond is NOT required by default for a personal representative appointed in informal proceedings, except when a special personal representative is appointed, the will expressly requires bond, or bond is demanded under § 700.3605. In formal proceedings, a court may order bond but generally must not if the will relieves the PR of bond.
“A bond is not required of a personal representative appointed in informal proceedings, except in any of the following circumstances”
Source: Mich. Comp. Laws § 700.3603
Can the will waive it in Michigan?
Sometimes. Because informal administration defaults to no bond, the will’s role is inverted from other states; a will provision can impose a bond requirement rather than waive one; in formal proceedings the will can relieve the PR of bond.
Can the heirs or beneficiaries waive it in Michigan?
Sometimes. A person with an interest in the estate, or a creditor with a claim against it, above the statutory dollar amount ($30,000 before the cost-of-living adjustment in MCL 700.1210) can demand bond under § 700.3605, but heirs have no freestanding right to waive a bond that isn’t otherwise required.
If a bond is required, how much?
When a bond is required, Michigan sizes it at 100% of the estimated value of the personal estate plus expected annual income, per its own bond-amount statute.
“best estimate of the value of the decedent’s personal estate and of the income expected from the personal and real estate during the next year”
Source: Mich. Comp. Laws § 700.3604
What makes Michigan different
Michigan follows the classic UPC pattern: no bond by default for informal (unsupervised) administration, bond available on demand above a dollar threshold, and formal-proceeding bond waivable by will. The state is a clean textbook example of the UPC’s informal/formal split described in the research brief.
A note on sourcing: The official legislature.mi.gov page could not be fetched due to a TLS certificate verification error on this tool; verified instead via two independent mirrors (FindLaw and Onecle) that returned identical statutory text with the official MCL § 700.3603 citation.
| Bond-requirement source | Mich. Comp. Laws § 700.3603 |
| Michigan courts (general reference) | Michigan judicial branch |
| Michigan Secretary of State / legislature | Michigan state government |
| Confidence | Medium |
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.
Related: how long creditors have to file a claim against an estate in Michigan.