Short answer. Yes, if the property to be distributed includes something other than real property. Before allowing the partition, the court may require the distributees to file a bond, in a court-fixed amount, conditioned on paying any just claim that may be filed under the next succeeding section.
What the law says
The court, before allowing a partition in accordance with the provisions of the preceding section, may require the distributees, if property other than real is to be distributed, to file a bond in an amount to be fixed by court, conditioned for the payment of any just claim which may be filed under the next succeeding section.
Rule 74, Section 3 — Bond to be filed by distributees. Read the full provision →
Bond as a condition, not automatic
Before allowing a summary partition to go through, the court has discretion to require the distributees to post a bond first — the rule uses 'may,' not 'shall,' so imposing the bond is a choice the court makes, not an automatic step in every summary settlement. It is a conditional gatekeeping power the court may exercise, not a formality that heirs can skip simply because they all agree on how to divide the estate among themselves. A court weighing whether to require it will typically look at whether unpaid obligations or unresolved claims against the estate remain a realistic possibility once the property passes into the distributees' hands.
Only triggered by non-real property
The bond requirement is specifically tied to property other than real estate being distributed, such as cash, vehicles, jewelry, or other personal property. Real property, by contrast, remains identifiable by its title and location even after it passes to the distributees, which is part of why the rule singles out non-real property as the trigger for requiring a bond before it is handed out. Personal property, once distributed and spent or disposed of, is far harder for a later claimant to trace and recover, so the bond exists to stand in for that missing traceability rather than to police real property transfers at all.
What the bond protects against
The bond is conditioned on payment of any just claim that may later be filed against the estate. In other words, it exists to protect creditors or other claimants who surface after the summary partition, ensuring there is a fund the distributees can be held to even after the property itself has already changed hands. Summary settlement is meant to be a fast, simplified route to distributing a small estate, and that speed carries a real risk: a legitimate creditor might not learn of the proceeding, or might not act, until after the property is already gone. The bond gives that creditor something concrete to reach even though the assets themselves are no longer sitting in an estate available for a formal claim.