Short answer. Yes. Before an executor or administrator enters on the trust and before the letters issue, he must give a bond. The Rules fix no peso figure — the bond is in such sum as the court directs — and it is conditioned on filing an inventory, administering the estate properly, accounting within a year, and obeying court orders.
What the law says
Before an executor or administrator enters upon the execution of his trust, and letters testamentary or of administration issue, he shall give a bond, in such sum as the court directs
Rule 81, Section 1 — Bond to be given before issuance of letters; Amount; Conditions. Read the full provision →
What the law says
To render a true and just account of his administration to the court within one year, and at any other time when required by the court
Rule 81, Section 1 — Bond to be given before issuance of letters; Amount; Conditions. Read the full provision →
No bond, no letters
The sequence in Rule 81, Section 1 is deliberate: Before an executor or administrator enters upon the execution of his trust, and letters testamentary or of administration issue, he shall give a bond, in such sum as the court directs. Even an executor named in the will cannot start acting for the estate on the strength of the nomination alone — the bond comes first, then the letters, then the authority. As for the amount, the Rules deliberately set no fixed sum or formula; the court directs it, with the petition's statement of the estate's probable value before it.
The four conditions of the bond
The bond is conditioned on the core duties of the office. First, to make and return to the court, within three months, a true and complete inventory of everything of the deceased that comes to the administrator's possession or knowledge, or to the possession of any other person for him. Second, to administer the estate according to the Rules — and, if an executor, according to the will — and from the proceeds to pay the debts, legacies and charges, or the dividends the court decrees. Third, to render a true and just account of his administration to the court within one year, and at any other time when required by the court. Fourth, to perform all orders of the court.
What the bond actually protects
The bond is not a fee paid to anyone; it is security that stands behind the administrator's performance. An administrator holds other people's property — the heirs' inheritance, the fund from which creditors will be paid — and the bond gives those persons something to proceed against if the conditions are breached: assets unaccounted for, an inventory never filed, court orders ignored. That is why the conditions track the duties so closely. For heirs and creditors, the existence and sufficiency of the bond is a legitimate concern in the proceeding itself, since it measures what protection actually backs the administration.
What to expect in practice
If you are seeking appointment, expect the court to fix the bond when it resolves the petition, and be ready with a realistic estimate of the estate's value and character, since that is what the sum will be gauged against. Budget for the bond as a real cost of serving. If you are an heir watching someone else's appointment, check the record for the bond and its amount: an administration running without one, or on a bond plainly out of proportion to the estate, is a matter to raise with the probate court before assets start moving.