Apr 13

In Rhode Island, HB 7985, SB 2743 and SB 2755 now grant state courts the authority to waive the surety bond requirement for a guardian of an estate (guardianship bond or fiduciary bond). The waiver can be granted by the court regardless of the estate’s value. Under current Rhode Island law, a guardian bond must be obtained by a guardian of any estate with a value exceeding $10,000.

Conversely, Michigan’s HB 5188 was defeated. If HB 5188 had passed, the bill would have successfully changed the surety bond requirements for conservators of a trust for the estate of a deceased individual. Under the current Michigan law, courts may be authorized to require a conservator to purchase a surety bond from a surety company specified by the court. Instead of sureties, current law permits the pledging of securities, or mortgage on land. If passed, the bill would have granted the Michigan courts the authority to require a surety bond if the cash and property value went over the limit for administering a decedent’s estate. Of note, the value of cash and property, and whether or not it is converted into cash in the specific estate is typically under the control of the estate’s conservator. However, the defeated bill proposed that this surety bond requirement could be waived by the court given the following circumstances:
1. Requiring the surety bond creates financial hardship on the estate.
2. Trust powers are granted to the conservator in accordance with Michigan’s banking code.
3. The estate doesn’t contain property that could be easily convertible into cash.
4. The courts can state, on the record, any other reason they don’t believe a surety bond is necessary.

Apr 12

In Colorado, two new House Bills were recently passed that bring about a couple of changes to surety bond requirements pertaining to manufactured homes. Colorado HB 1260 changes the total amount of the surety bond that is required to be purchased when issuing the certificate of title for a manufactured home. Such a surety bond is required in order to cover any individuals who suffer damages or experience loss as a result of the certificate being issued. Prior to the enactment of HB 1260, the total surety bond amount was established by the Executive Director of the Department of Revenue. Under the new law, the surety bond amount must be twice the total value of manufactured home, according to assessor’s records. Another bill recently passed in Colorado, HB 1319, rescinds the requirement for inspectors and installers of manufactured homes in the state to post a surety bond in the amount of $10,000. As of the first day of 2009, all license applicants will instead be required to purchase liability insurance.

In Mississippi, the recently enacted HB 1388 grants the state’s Insurance Commissioner the ability to adopt regulations pertaining to bonding requirements for manufactured homes. More specifically, the bill gives the Insurance Commissioner the authority to create regulations for both surety bond and insurance requirements associated with licensure of manufacturers, retailers, distributors, transporters as well as installers of factory-built homes.