Kentucky Administrator & Executor Bond

Probate Bonds From $100 – All 120 KY Counties

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A Kentucky executor bond or Kentucky administrator bond — together known as a probate bond or fiduciary bond — is required when a Kentucky District Court determines one is needed to protect the estate. Kentucky's rule changed on July 15, 2026: under the amended KRS 395.130, bond is no longer automatic, but the court may require a surety bond whenever it finds one necessary to adequately protect all interests in the estate — and the court is not bound by the will, so even a will that waives bond does not settle the question. Premiums start at $100 and are a lawful charge against the estate.

Kentucky Probate Bond Pricing

Premiums are a small percentage of the required bond amount and are paid from estate funds. Sample pricing for qualified applicants:

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Executor, Administrator, or Trustee — Which Kentucky Probate Bond You Need

All three cover a fiduciary who manages estate or trust assets. Kentucky uses “personal representative” for executors and administrators — all are “fiduciaries” qualified in District Court with an oath and, when ordered, a bond on court form AOC-825. Which one applies depends on how you were appointed:

When Does the Kentucky District Court Require a Bond?

Probate in Kentucky is handled by the District Court in each of the state's 120 counties, which has exclusive jurisdiction over the probate of wills and the appointment and qualification of personal representatives (KRS 24A.120). Kentucky rewrote its bond statute effective July 15, 2026: under the amended KRS 395.130, no bond is required of a personal representative except when a public administrator or curator is appointed, or when the District Court, in its discretion, determines a surety bond is needed to adequately protect all interests in the estate. The court may weigh the testator's expressed intent and the fiduciary's experience — but is not bound by the will.

When a bond is ordered, the mechanics are exacting: it must be subscribed by principal and sureties, approved by the court, attested by the clerk, and recorded (KRS 395.140), and the penal sum must be fixed at not less than the estimated value of the estate in the fiduciary's charge (KRS 62.060). An individual may not serve as surety on more than one such bond — a limit that does not apply to corporate sureties (KRS 62.065), which is why a licensed surety company is the practical answer. The reasonable premium is a lawful charge against the estate, credited to the fiduciary at settlement. If the fiduciary causes a loss, valid claims are paid from the bond up to its penal sum, and the fiduciary must reimburse the surety. The bond protects the estate, not the fiduciary.

How the Court Sets Your Bond Amount

Kentucky bonds are covenants to the Commonwealth with a definite penal sum fixed by the approving court. Under KRS 62.060, the floor is the estimated value of the estate in the fiduciary's charge — in probate practice, keyed to the personal estate plus expected income — and the court may later increase the penal sum or require renewal or additional surety as the estate develops.

The premium scales with that penal sum, and because it is a court-approved expense of administration, it comes from estate funds rather than the fiduciary's pocket. Your court paperwork or the circuit court clerk's probate division will confirm the figure once the judge orders bond — wait for it before purchasing, since many Kentucky fiduciaries under the new statute will not need a bond at all.

Which Kentucky Court Handles Your Probate

Probate opens in the District Court of the county where the decedent resided — one in each of Kentucky's 120 counties, more than any state but Texas and Georgia — served by the elected Circuit Court Clerk's office, which in larger counties runs a dedicated probate division. Qualification takes a petition (AOC-805), the oath required by KRS 395.120, and any ordered bond on form AOC-825; the court then issues letters testamentary or letters of administration. Adversarial probate disputes move to Circuit Court. The directory below lists every county with its kycourts.gov page, clerk phone, and courthouse address.

How To Get Your Kentucky Probate Bond

1. Get appointed and confirm whether bond is ordered. Under the amended KRS 395.130, the District Court decides at qualification whether a surety bond is needed to protect the estate — and sets the penal sum, with the estimated estate value as the floor. Wait for the court's determination before purchasing.
2. Request your quote. Apply online or call with your court documentation. For most standard estates we can quote from the bond amount alone; larger or more complex estates may involve a review of the will and the applicant's credit.
3. Complete the short application. Provide the fiduciary's information and the estate details.
4. File your bond and receive your letters. We execute the bond — Kentucky's AOC-825 Bond of Fiduciary — with the surety's Power of Attorney attached so you can file it with the court. The court then issues your letters testamentary or letters of administration, and you can begin settling the estate.

Bond Details at a Glance

• Bond Name: Kentucky Executor Bond / Kentucky Administrator Bond (Bond of Fiduciary, AOC-825)
• Also Known As: Probate bond, personal representative bond, estate bond
• Bond Amount: Penal sum fixed by the court — not less than the estimated value of the estate in the fiduciary's charge (KRS 62.060); court may later increase it
• Starting Premium: $100 for a $10,000 bond; a lawful charge against the estate, credited at settlement (KRS 395.130(2))
• Obligee: The Commonwealth of Kentucky, for the benefit of persons interested in the estate (KRS 62.070)
• Governing Law: KRS 395.130 as amended by 2026 SB 50, eff. July 15, 2026 (when bond is required), 395.140 (execution and approval), 62.060 (amount), 62.065 (corporate sureties)
• Waiver: Bond is no longer the default — required only for public administrators/curators or when the court finds it needed; the court is NOT bound by a will's waiver or requirement
• Court: District Court in each of Kentucky's 120 counties, served by the Circuit Court Clerk's probate division
• Attorney Required: No

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Kentucky administrator or executor bond?
A probate bond — Kentucky's Bond of Fiduciary, form AOC-825 — ordered by a District Court under KRS 395.130 when the court determines a surety bond is needed to adequately protect all interests in the estate. It is a covenant to the Commonwealth guaranteeing faithful administration.

Can the bond be waived?
Kentucky's rule changed on July 15, 2026: bond is no longer automatic, so most fiduciaries serve without one unless the court orders it. But the reverse is also true — the court is not bound by a will's waiver and can require a corporate surety bond anyway. Public administrators and curators must always be bonded.

Do administrators need a bond in Kentucky?
When the court says so — and intestate estates with multiple heirs or significant creditors are where District Courts most often order one. When the county's public administrator serves, bond is required outright.

How much does a Kentucky probate bond cost?
Premiums start at $100 for a $10,000 bond and scale with the penal sum — $135 at $25,000, $260 at $50,000, $460 at $100,000, and up. The premium is a lawful charge against the estate and is credited to the fiduciary at settlement.

How is the bond amount determined?
The court fixes the penal sum, with a statutory floor of the estimated value of the estate in the fiduciary's charge (KRS 62.060). The court can later increase it or require additional surety as the estate develops.

Why use a corporate surety?
Kentucky bars an individual from serving as surety on more than one fiduciary bond, and bars court insiders from serving at all (KRS 62.065, 395.140) — limits that don't apply to licensed surety companies. A corporate surety bond also makes the premium a court-approved estate expense.

Which Kentucky court handles probate?
The District Court of the county where the decedent resided — one in each of Kentucky's 120 counties — through the Circuit Court Clerk's office. Contested probate matters go to Circuit Court.

What happens if a claim is filed against the bond?
The surety pays valid claims — from mismanagement, fraud, or failure to follow the will or Kentucky law — up to the bond's penal sum, and the fiduciary must reimburse the surety in full. The bond protects the estate, not the fiduciary.

Kentucky Probate Court Directory

Probate in Kentucky is handled by the District Court in each of the state's 120 counties, served by the Circuit Court Clerk. Find your county below for its kycourts.gov page, phone number, and courthouse address.

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