Iowa Code 633.186 – Suit on bond
The execution and filing of the bond by a fiduciary, any other provisions of law notwithstanding, shall be deemed an appearance by the surety in the proceeding for the administration of the estate including all hearings with respect to the bond.
Terms Used In Iowa Code 633.186
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Court: means , when referring to a court of this state, the district court sitting in probate with jurisdiction of conservatorships and guardianships. See Iowa Code 633.701
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Estate: means the real and personal property of either a decedent or a ward, and may also refer to the real and personal property of a trust described in section 633. See Iowa Code 633.3
- Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
- Fiduciary: includes personal representative, executor, administrator, guardian, conservator, and the trustee of any trust described in section 633. See Iowa Code 633.3
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Person: means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, or government; governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality; or any other legal or commercial entity. See Iowa Code 633.701
Subject to the provisions of subsection 3 hereof, the court may, upon the breach of the obligation of the bond of a fiduciary, after notice to the obligors on the bond and to such other persons as the court directs, summarily determine the damages as a part of the proceeding for the administration of the estate, and by appropriate process enforce the collection thereof from those liable on the bond. Such determination and enforcement may be made by the court upon its own motion or upon application of a successor fiduciary, or of any other interested person. The court may hear the application at the time of settling the accounts of the defaulting fiduciary or at such other time as the court may direct. Damages shall be assessed on behalf of all interested persons and may be paid over to the successor or other nondefaulting fiduciary and distributed as other assets held by the fiduciary in the fiduciary’s official capacity.
If the estate is already distributed, or if, for any reason, the procedure to recover on the bond provided in subsection 2 hereof, is inadequate, any interested person may bring a separate suit in a court of competent jurisdiction on the person’s own behalf for damages suffered by the person by reason of the default of the fiduciary.
The bond of the fiduciary shall not be void upon the first recovery, but may be proceeded upon from time to time until the whole penalty is exhausted.
If the court has already determined the liability of the fiduciary, the sureties shall not be permitted thereafter to deny such liability in any action or hearing to determine their liability; but the surety may intervene in any hearing to determine the liability of the fiduciary.