Before the Surrogate issues letters, most fiduciaries have to file a bond.
It guarantees you’ll administer the estate faithfully, according to law.
The court sets the amount to the size of the estate — and we underwrite it.
A surety specialist reviews your file and returns a quote, usually within one business day.
















In New York the Surrogate won’t issue letters until the bond is filed and approved, so the bond is usually the last step before you can act. Here is the whole process:
Apply online with the petition or decree setting the bond, the estate’s value, and the fiduciary’s details. The value of the personal property plus estimated rents drives the penal sum.
A specialist reviews the file, a personal credit check, and any financials, then returns a quote. The amount is set by the Surrogate — underwriting decides approval and any collateral on a large estate.
Once you bind, we issue the executed bond on the court’s required form, conditioned on faithful performance of duties, ready for the Surrogate to approve so letters can issue.
When the New York Surrogate’s Court appoints you to handle someone else’s money — as the executor or administrator of an estate, or a guardian for a minor or incapacitated person — it usually requires a bond before issuing letters.
The fiduciary bond guarantees that you perform all your duties according to law: that you inventory the assets, account honestly, obey the court’s decrees, and don’t misuse the estate. If you breach those duties, the bond makes the estate or beneficiaries whole — and the surety looks to you to repay it.
Because the surety stands behind the estate, the bond is underwritten on your personal credit and finances, and a large estate can require collateral. We tell you what your file needs before you commit.
These are the actual underwriting fields — the estate, the bond amount the court set, the fiduciary, and your finances. Submit once and a surety specialist returns a quote, typically within one business day. Free until your bond is issued.
Start the application →If yours isn't here, the bond team can usually answer within the hour.
Send us the estate details and the amount the court set, and a surety specialist sizes, underwrites, and quotes the bond — typically within one business day. Free until your bond is issued.