(a) If bond is required and the provisions of the will or order of appointment do not specify the amount, unless stated in the application or petition, the person qualifying as personal representative shall file a statement under oath with the clerk indicating the person’s best estimate of the value of the personal estate of the decedent and of the income expected from the personal and real estate during the next year, and shall execute and file a bond with the clerk, or give other suitable security, in an amount not less than the estimate. The clerk shall determine that the bond is duly executed by a corporate surety, or one or more individual sureties whose performance is secured by pledge of personal property, mortgage on real property, or other adequate security.

(b) The clerk may permit the amount of the bond to be reduced by the value of assets of the estate deposited with a financial institution (as defined in § 29A-6-101) that is located in this state and in a manner that prevents their unauthorized disposition.

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Terms Used In South Dakota Codified Laws 29A-3-604

  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • Decedent: A deceased person.
  • Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
  • Person: includes natural persons, partnerships, associations, cooperative corporations, limited liability companies, and corporations. See South Dakota Codified Laws 2-14-2
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.

(c) On petition of the personal representative or another interested person and subject to § 29A-3-603, the court may require bond, excuse bond, increase or reduce the amount of the bond, release sureties, or permit the substitution of another bond with the same or different sureties.

Source: SL 1994, ch 232, § 3-604; SL 1995, ch 167, § 118.