Custodian of veterans bond is one type of New York fiduciary bond. Photo from veteranstoday.com

New York fiduciary bonds cover a wide range of responsibility, but usually stem from the need to protect one person’s assets from the misuse of another person. Fiduciary bonds are required by New York courts to cover the actions of a guardian or fiduciary acting on the behalf of a ward or a deceased individual. Surety bonds including curator bond, personal representative bond, and custodian of veteran bond all hold the party overseeing an estate accountable for fulfilling their duties, including paying off debts and properly distributing assets.

Curator Bond

When a person dies, an administrator will be appointed to administer their estate. However, the administrator may be unable to administer the estate for several reasons, including lack of a beneficiary. This puts the estate in curator status as a search for beneficiary or heir progresses. New York courts require a curator bond to protect the interest of the estate against mishandling by a curator.

The curator is responsible for protecting the estate against a loss until the estate can be administered properly. This heavy responsibility could result in a loss for the estate debtors and beneficiaries. Courts take the value of the estate, and court cost involved in the case, into consideration when setting the curator bond cost. The surety bond cost for a curator bond varies county to county in New York.

Personal Representative Bond

Personal Representative Bonds may be referred to as Administrator or Executor bonds in New York depending on the region. Courts require this surety bond when an individual dies and directs an administrator to distribute their assets and finalize their expenses. To protect the heirs and creditors of an estate, a personal representative bond covers the financial worth of the estate against any wrongdoing by a personal representative.

Some last will and testaments include a provision waiving the requirement of a personal representative bond, but the courts have the final say on the surety bond. The individual who is now deceased may have had great faith in their appointed personal representative; however, that does not extend to the court’s confidence. The court has a duty to protect all interests in this situation. When an executor fails to pay back taxes or properly notify beneficiaries the personal representative bond financially covers these mishaps.

Custodian of Veteran

Veterans of the American Armed Services deserve honor and respect for their service to their country. While war is not to be glorified, those who stand to fight should be protected when they can no longer represent themselves. Custodian of Veteran bond is a surety bond filed with the Department of Veterans Affairs after a service member is deemed incapacitated. This surety bond is similar to guardianship bonds in that it protects the incapacitated against a wrongful financial loss and mishandling of their estate by the person overseeing their assets.

Custodian of Veterans bond is only filed when the assets include money invested with the Department of Veterans Affairs. The department requires a custodian of veterans bond covering the worth of the estate. Without this bond, the veteran is vulnerable to damages. The guardian overseeing the veteran’s estate is also vulnerable to legal action for not following guardianship procedure.

Home to Super Bowl Champions the New Orleans Saints and SEC dominants the LSU Tigers, Louisiana knows how to stay in shape. Lifting free weights, taking aerobic classes, meditating to yoga and swimming laps in a pool are only a few ways to help burn off the bar-b-que calories. In order for a health club to offer these classes and activities, though, they must operate with a health club bond. A health club bond is a type of surety bond protecting the consumer for fees paid in advance.

When people join a club and receive a membership they promise to pay a certain amount each month. A gym member who pays on May 1 is guaranteed use of the gym throughout the month. In the event the gym should close its business on May 15, the member is guaranteed to receive their payment back. The state of Louisiana mandates health clubs and gyms to have a health club bond guaranteeing their members any unpaid fees or dues should the gym close down. Without this bond, members of a health club are not protected against losing money.

Health club bonds are common in Louisiana and are not viewed as “high risk” when compared to other surety bonds. Generally, the market for health clubs bonds is stable. Operating a gym without a surety bond is a high risk that can lead to huge financial losses (which only adds to the “out of business” woes). Jurisco can discuss the health club bond cost with you one-on-one to ensure you get the best rate for your surety bond. Contact us today for more information.

cartoon by John Pritchett

A home is for sale in Illinois and a potential buyer is ready to close the deal. What could go wrong? Well, let’s say a divorced couple is fighting for ownership of that property and only one party is selling the house. Now the deal does not seem as sweet. This type of situation where one party does something another party doesn’t believe is right (or even legal) occurs almost daily. When it reaches the point where the courts have to be involved, a plaintiff will file an injunction against a defendant to prevent them from doing the contested action.

Illinois courts mandate if a plaintiff asks for an injunction it must be in conjunction with the filing of an injunction bond. Illinois requires injunction bonds to protect the defendant from a financial loss if the injunction is found to be unwarranted. Mandating surety bonds not only helps prevent an unnecessary financial loss but false injunctions.  False injunctions could prevent the sale of the above-mentioned house resulting in a huge financial loss.

A surety bond covers the plaintiff’s responsibility of damages and losses to the defendant. Since those damages and losses are dependent on the case, the cost of an injunction bond will vary. The district the bond is filed in may also play a role. The presiding judge in Chicago may require a different cost for an injunction bond than a judge in Peoria depending on local statute. Other personal factors, including bad credit, may also affect the surety bond cost.

To discuss the cost of an injunction bond, or any other surety bond, contact Jurisco. A bonding professional will answer any questions you have about the injunction process and bond mandates.

A claim and delivery bond is a surety required for the plaintiff seeking to levy property before the court issues a judgment. Tennessee courts may also refer to this as a Replevin or Sequestration bond. The property involved in claim and delivery cases cannot be “real” property, as in real estate, and the property must not be valued more than $7,500. Most situations involving a sequestration bond are with vehicles.

Claim and delivery bonds allow the defendant to collect damages in the event of a wrongful levy or if the property is damaged after being taken from the defendant. It will also guarantee the return of the property in the event the court rules in the defendant’s favor. Without this surety, the defendant is exposed to a financial loss. However, some defendants agree to write an exception waiving the surety bond. A court must approve this exception for it to take effect.

Requirements for a claim and delivery bond may differ depending on the jurisdiction. When a client requires a surety bond, Jurisco delivers the correct bond that meets local and state mandates. Without this benchmark, the bond can be denied by the court, which not only delays the process, but also creates more hurdles in the case. To discuss claim and delivery bonds further, you may want to email Jurisco or call one of the bonding experts at 1-800- 274-2663.

A Garnishment bond is only required if the plaintiff seeks to garnish the defendants accounts pre-judgment.  Many times the plaintiff will attempt to garnish the defendants account before a judgment is made because there is concern that they will dispose of or conceal assets if notice is given.  The bond amount must be for double the amount that the plaintiff seeks to garnish.  The addition amount that the bond provides is to cover court costs, legal fees and interest. Garnishing wages is sometimes the only option left available for the plaintiff to recover their money. While the courts recognize the contractual obligation of payment, the surety bond protects the defendant in the event the contractual obligation was already met and the garnishments were unnecessary.

Garnishment bonds cost fluctuates depending on the Florida court presiding over the case and the total amount of money owed. To discuss the surety bond cost in detail, a Jurisco bond expert is available via email or by phone.

A trustee is appointed as administrator of the trust document by either the trust itself or the court over the trust jurisdiction. A trustee can be an individual, but is typically a commercial bank. For “living trusts”, the creator of the trust is generally the original trustee until the time of her/his death. When the trust is for a charitable remainder, the trustee is required to be independent so it cannot be the creator of the trust. The trustee is responsible for compiling a list of bondholders, making payments of both interest and principal to bondholders, and to represent the best interest of the trust at all times.

Trustee bonds in California guarantee that the trust is financially protected if the trustee fails to meet her/his responsibility. California courts will use the value of the trust when determining the surety bond amount. A member of the Jurisco surety bonding team can explain the trustee bond cost in greater detail.

On average, an appeal bond in Pennsylvania requires 100% collateral. Depending on the judgment amount, this bond price could limit the defendant’s appeal choices if he/she does not have the funds to cover collateral. An alternative to this situation is asking the plaintiff to waive the surety bond requirement and then have a Pennsylvania judge sign off on that agreement.

Where the appeal bond is filed within Pennsylvania also plays a role in the cost. A judge sets the final bond amount and depending on the size of the city, or details of the case, the judge may require more than 100% collateral.  For instance, the appeal bond may be required to cover interest as well. Knowing exactly what the court expects out of the surety bond will help lower the cost. Using a surety bond company knowledgeable of state and local mandates is important for this reason.

The defendant’s credit may play a role in the bond cost, but the only way to know for sure is to contact Jurisco. Bad credit is a reality for millions of Americans and as a nationwide surety bond provider with a lawyer-trained staff, Jurisco is equipped to help handle each client’s needs even when they need bad credit bonding.

To know what your appeal bond cost will be in Pennsylvania contact Jurisco today. You may also fill out an appeal bond application online or a member of our staff can fax you over an application.

A stay (pending appeal) bond is common for Florida defendant bonds. When the court rules in the plaintiff’s favor and files a judgment against the defendant, the defendant has a right to appeal. In order to delay paying the judgment until after the appeal process is completed, the Florida courts require a stay (pending appeal) bond that covers the cost of the judgment and, in some cases, court costs.

Another type of surety bond that helps delay a court action the defendant feels unnecessary is a counter replevin bond. A counter replevin bond is employed when a defendant wishes to regain possession of levied property. This surety bond is a counter for the plaintiff’s replevin bond. Defendants who feel the replevin bond was wrongly used often use this bond to help them avoid a further loss and inconvenience.

One surety bond people overlook is the cost bond. A plaintiff wishing to file suit in the state of Florida, but does not have residency in the state, must put up a cost bond. This court action is not required in every situation. Discussing the case with Jurisco will help you best determined whether a cost bond is warranted.

Banks and financial institutions may require a lost instrument bond to cover cashier’s checks, stock certificates, and mortgages should any of these instruments be lost or destroyed.  For example, when a mortgage note is lost or destroyed the lender must replace it. However, this could lead to false filings if both the lost note and replacement note hold financial value. A lost instrument bond guarantees the cost and expenses of the mortgage note but does not allow the lost instrument to be redeemed, only replaced.

Jurisco is available to speak about court bonds in Florida should you have questions about stay (pending appeal) bonds or any other surety bond.

Each court bond application describes which information is necessary for bond approval. The applications are designed for the corresponding bond to make the bonding process faster and easier to understand. A guardianship bond application, for example, asks for a financial statement since it deals with the handling of an estate. An appeal bond application requires the amount of judgment, case number and name of the appellant court.

We know even with the convenience of the Internet that some clients prefer a more “hands on” approach. A member of the Jurisco surety bonding staff can fax or mail the bond application if that suits your purposes better. And at anytime, if you have a question, our staff is here to explain the application and bonding process in greater detail.

While law enforcement has the legal authority to repossess property, this authority does not protect them from all lawsuits. Plaintiff’s posting an Indemnity Sheriff bond prevents the agency from being financially liable for the repossession. An example of this would be a defendant having their car repossessed and then proving the plaintiff had no right to take possession. Indemnity Sheriff bonds won’t help the agency if they repossess the wrong vehicle.

On average, the cost of Indemnity Sheriff bonds is based on the value of the property. The Indiana court may also include court fees. Jurisco deals with these surety bonds frequently. We can answer any question you may have about the Indemnity Sheriff application, plaintiff bond cost and Indiana bond mandates. Contact Jursico via email or by calling 1-800-274-2663.