Why does executors pay bond in the probate?

Question

n a will, the executors pay a fee/bond when they are executors of a will ...

Is this money paid to the court? the estate? the government? and do they get it back? and How is that amount determined?

My GGrandfather's Will lists his sons and a son-in-law as executors of his will but the son-in-law " refused to take upon himself the burthen of the execution thereof”? What is that about?

And his sons “obtaining a probate thereof … who made oath thereto certificate I granted thereon for obtaining a probate thereof in due form giving security wherefrom they together their security entered into & acknowledged their bond in the penalty of ten thousand pounds conditioned as the law directs” £10,000 was a lot of money for 1796 wasn’t it?

Comments

Great question Rose!

And I am loving the new photos the the Patriotic Backgrounds photo page, and the Colonial Backgrounds photo page!  

Thanks a million!

Answer 1

You don't pay the money when you make a bond.Its a promise . In this case that you will faithfully administrate the will i.e do what the deceased wanted within the law. Only if you break the bond is the amount forfeit. It was a high amount in this case because the estate was large and valuable.  

Even today executors have to swear that they will faithfully administrate an estate. There's no financial bond made but you can be held to account by the courts for any irregularity.

Being an executor can be onerous, it takes a lot of time to sort out someone's affairs.  Son in law  decided that he didn't want  the hassle  ( or share financial responsibility if someone contested the way the estate was administered)

Comments

Right, Helen! Being an executor can be onerous. I’ve seen estate papers covering years, sometimes more than a decade, with later disagreements popping up about how the estate was handled. 

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And... your answer answered very similar questions for me. Thanks!

Answer 2

Given the size of his assets, the bond would have been required to try to assure executors do their duty. As far as I know they would only have  to stump up a percentage in cash, and put up assets for the rest.

Marriage required a bond (approx $100) I believe, today we would call it a marriage licence.