Indiana Executor Bond Requirement

Updated September 7, 2026. Quick answer: In Indiana, for unsupervised administration under Indiana Code Chapter 29-1-7.5, no bond is required by default; a bond is required only if the will provides for one or the court finds, on its own motion or an interested person’s motion, that a bond is necessary to protect creditors, heirs, devisees, and legatees.

Does Indiana require an executor to post a bond?

For unsupervised administration under Indiana Code Chapter 29-1-7.5, no bond is required by default; a bond is required only if the will provides for one or the court finds, on its own motion or an interested person’s motion, that a bond is necessary to protect creditors, heirs, devisees, and legatees.

“A personal representative is not required to execute and file a bond relating to the duties of the personal representative’s office under this chapter unless: (1) the will provides for the execution and filing of a bond; or (2) the court finds…that a bond is necessary”

Source: Ind. Code § 29-1-7.5-2.5

Can the will waive it in Indiana?

Sometimes. The logic runs opposite to most bond statutes: the default under this unsupervised-administration section is no bond at all, so a will provision does not ‘waive’ a default bond; it instead creates a bond requirement that would not otherwise exist.

Can the heirs or beneficiaries waive it in Indiana?

No. Not addressed in this section; the only route to a bond besides a will provision is a court finding of necessity on its own motion or an interested person’s motion; there is no heir-waiver mechanism described here.

If a bond is required, how much?

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

“not less than: (i) the probable value of the estate’s personal property; plus (ii) the estimated rents and profits to be derived from the property…and (B) not greater than the probable gross value of the estate”

Source: Ind. Code § 29-1-10-1

What makes Indiana different

Indiana’s unsupervised-administration statute inverts the usual pattern seen in most other states studied: the default is no bond, and it is the will (or a court finding) that creates a bond requirement, rather than a will provision waiving an otherwise-mandatory bond.

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.