Surety Bond Professionals is a family-owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your Connecticut probate bond needs.
What Are They?
Connecticut probate bonds comprise one of the two categories of bonds required by the state’s courts (the other being judiciary/appeal bonds). Probate bonds ensure that people appointed by the court to fiduciary roles carry out their responsibilities in accordance with applicable state laws.
Anyone in a fiduciary role is required to make decisions that are in the best interest of the person(s) whose assets the fiduciary is managing. Failure to do so can, if it causes financial harm to another, can result in claims against the bond.
Who Needs Them?
Several court-appointed roles carry a bonding requirement, most notably:
- An executor named in a will to distribute assets to the decedent’s heirs, beneficiaries, and creditors
- An administrator appointed by the court to distribute the assets of a person who died without a will
- A guardian appointed to manage the assets and income of a minor
- A conservator appointed to manage the assets of an incapacitated adult
The court will determine when a Connecticut probate bond is required and what the required bond amount (the bond’s penal sum) is. That amount must be at least equal to the value of the assets under the fiduciary’s control and management, including the value of any real estate.
Speak with a Surety Bond Professionals agent today to discuss your bonding needs.
How Do They Work?
Any act of malfeasance or negligence that results in a financial loss to the estate can result in a claim being filed against the bond. Such acts include things like embezzlement, misuse of funds, falsification of expense reports, making inappropriately risky investments, and so on.
Although the fiduciary (the “principal” required to purchase the Connecticut probate bond) is legally obligated to pay all valid claims, the surety bond company (known simply as the “surety”) typically will pay them and then collect reimbursement from the principal. In effect, the surety bond represents a line of credit for paying claims, and when the surety pays a claim on behalf of the principal, it draws down that line of credit and creates a debt that the principal must repay.
What Do They Cost?
The surety typically calculates the annual premium cost of a Connecticut probate bond as a small percentage of the bond’s penal sum that the court (the bond’s “obligee”) established based on the value of the estate. The surety’s main concern is the principal’s ability to avoid claims, as well as their ability to repay the debt created by the surety’s advance payment of claims.
A principal in good financial standing, with a high personal credit score, will pay a premium that could be as low as 0.5% to 1% of the bond’s penal sum.
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Our surety bond professionals will get you the Connecticut probate bond you need at a competitive rate.