Probate Bonds
Bond Application (pdf)
Personal Representative(PR): Also known as an executor of an estate, a PR is charged with distributing the assets of an estate to its heirs, as well as paying the creditors of the estate.
Fiduciary: A person who is obliged to discharge faithfully a responsibility of trust toward another. Common fiduciary relationships are a Conservator to dependent person, parent to child, lawyer to client, trustee to trust, and business partner to business partner. In discharging a trust, the fiduciary must be absolutely open and fair.
Conservator: Court appointed individual(s) who has the legal right and duty to care for another, the dependent person, because of this person’s inability to legally act on his or her own behalf due to minority or mental or physical incapacity. A conservatorship is mainly related to maintaining the dependent person’s estate. The most common duties of a conservator are:
- The duty to pay the reasonable charges for the support, maintenance, and education of the protected person.
- The duty to pay out of the protected person’s estate all just and lawful debts of the protected person.
- The duty to possess and manage the estate, collect all debts and claims in favor of the protected person and invest all funds not needed for debts, charges, and the management of the estate in accordance with the Prudent Investor Rule.
- The power to approve or withhold approval of any contract, except for necessities, which the protected person may make or wish to make.
- The power to apply for government assistance on behalf of the protected person.
Please note these powers were taken from MS 524.5-418
Guardian: A guardian is a person who takes on the responsibility and obligation to care for another person. Appointed by the court, a guardian has the legal right and duty to care for a ward or dependent person. A full outline of a guardian’s powers and duties can be found at MS 524.5-313
Power of Attorney (POA): A POA is a document that is created to give another person the power to act on your behalf. The individual creating the POA is the “principal” while the person with the authority is called the “attorney-in-fact” (they must be 18 years or older). The principal can revoke the POA at any time or could even set a time period where the POA would be in effect.
Representative Payee: A person who manages benefits on behalf of a beneficiary (most commonly categorized as being incapable of managing their finances, legally incompetent or a minor child under 18). The most common Representative Payees are through the Social Security Administration or the Veterans Administration. .
Trust/Trustee: A principle that holds legal title to property in order to administer it for a beneficiary.
Supplemental Needs Trust: A supplemental needs trust is created for a beneficiary which supplements other benefits like Social Security or Medical Assistance.
Special Needs Trust:
A special needs trust is a supplemental needs trust but it is more restrictive.
This is just a general list and is not all inclusive of the types of
bonds/insurance PJT provides.