You were appointed to protect someone. We will handle the bond.
Courts almost always require a bond before issuing letters of conservatorship or guardianship. BF Bond has handled fiduciary surety since 1949, working with families and their attorneys, often on short notice.
- Fiduciary surety since 1949
- We work with your attorney
- A-rated carrier partners
What is a conservator or guardian bond?
A conservator bond is a fiduciary bond the court requires from a person appointed to manage the finances of someone who cannot manage them alone, whether that is a minor child or an adult who has become incapacitated. Depending on your state, the same instrument is called a guardian bond, a guardianship bond, or a conservatorship bond.
It guarantees to the court and to the protected person that you will carry out the role faithfully: keeping their money separate from your own, spending it only for their benefit, investing prudently, filing the inventories and annual accountings the court requires, and turning over what remains when the conservatorship ends. If a conservator misuses those funds, the protected person or their heirs can claim against the bond, the surety pays, and it then recovers from the conservator personally.
Terminology varies more here than in most bond classes. Many states distinguish between guardianship of the person, meaning decisions about care and living arrangements, and conservatorship of the estate, meaning control of money and property. The bond attaches to the financial role. If you have been appointed only over the person and not the estate, a bond may not be required at all, which is worth confirming before you buy one.
- Required by the court before letters of conservatorship or guardianship are issued
- Protects the minor or incapacitated adult whose finances you manage
- Bond amount is set by the court, not by the surety
- Premium is generally payable from the protected person estate
Conservator bonds at a glance
Set by the court, commonly the value of the personal property under your control plus expected annual income
A small percentage of the bond amount, billed annually while the conservatorship remains open
In force until the conservatorship ends and the court formally discharges you
The probate, surrogate, or family court supervising the conservatorship
Guardian bond, guardianship bond, conservatorship bond, fiduciary bond
Appointments that require a bond
Courts require a bond in most financial appointments. Your attorney or the court clerk will confirm what applies in your county.
Incapacitated Adults
Conservatorship over an adult who can no longer manage finances due to illness, injury, dementia, or disability.
Minor Children
Guardianship of a minor estate, common where a child has inherited assets or received a personal injury settlement.
Settlement Proceeds
Court-supervised appointments established specifically to hold and manage settlement or insurance proceeds.
Out-of-State Fiduciaries
Appointments where the conservator lives outside the state, which courts almost always condition on a bond.
How the bond gets filed
Apply online
Complete our probate and fiduciary application in about five minutes. Save and resume if you are waiting on figures.
Send the court papers
Share the petition or the order stating the bond amount. Your attorney can send it to us directly.
Underwriting review
A quick review of the estate details and your credit history. Most straightforward appointments approve the same day.
Bond to the court
We issue on the form your court accepts, with seal and power of attorney, ready to file with the clerk.
Conservator bond FAQs
Let us take the bond off your list.
Five minutes to apply, and a BF Bond fiduciary agent takes it from there. Call if the court has set a filing date.
