When you get arrested you may have the option of getting released from being held in jail if you pay bail. Bail is a deposit paid to the courts on the promise that you will return for your trial unless you want to forfeit the money paid. Sometimes you may want to use bail bonds to do so. Bail bonds are slightly more complicated than just paying in cash but they may be worth it.
How Do Bail Bonds Work?
When you want to use a bail bond you have to go through a bail bonding agency and use a bail bondsman. They will charge you an extra fee to release someone from jail. The fee is usually 10% of the bail fee. This is a non-refundable amount, even when the suspect is not guilty. While it seems to be more expensive to use bail bonds it is sometimes necessary because people don’t always have the amount they need on hand to pay for bail.
The way a bail bond works is that the bondsman will take out a security, but not on their own name. It will be against the suspect’s assets so that the bail is completely covered. In the event that the person who needs bail doesn’t have enough assets to hold against the bond, the bondsman can take out the bail bond against assets of any other person who wants to help out.
How Does a Bondsman Get Paid?
The bail bondsman does not need to be paid immediately. When the suspect goes to trial is when the bondsman looks to collect. This is done so that the person who was arrested has time to gather the money. If you do not go to court on your assigned trial date the bondsman can hire a bounty hunter to come after you for the money. They can also claim ownership of the assets that backed the bail bond. Using bail bonds is a way to quickly get out of jail that you simply have to pay back later.
Need A Bondsman?
If you have more questions about your bail bonds you should try to talk to a bonding agency. The easiest, fastest way to get in contact with reliable, local bonding agencies is to use TalkLocal. Just tell us what you need, where you are located, and your availability, and we’ll connect you with up to three professionals in just minutes!
