A few years ago, I was in a pretty serious car accident. During the aftermath, I became really familiar with a lot of different types of lawyers. I worked with personal injury lawyers, insurance lawyers, and many others. Perhaps the most important, though, was the estate planning lawyer. I was really young, and neither my wife or I had thought about starting a will. But the accident kind of scared us into it. What would happen if one of us were to die? Even when still in the hospital, I was working with the lawyer to draw up a will. Now, I have some peace and security about what the future will be like if something should happen to me. And I have a lot of experience working with various types of lawyers! The accident was kind of a blessing in disguise in that way.
Having to bail out a friend or loved one from jail can be a frustrating experience, but it can be invaluable to the person who broke the law. However, you need to carefully consider what is involved before diving into the bail process. It can leave you with some serious ramifications if your friend or loved one does not keep up his or her end of the bargain. The following are some things you need to know:
The Bonding Process
Once a person is arrested, he or she will have to see a judge who will then set the bond. That person then has the option of calling someone to post bond so that he or she can be released from jail. The amount of bail is going to differ, but you can count on it being a significant sum of money. That is why many people choose to use a bail bondsman. A bail bonds company will have you pay a smaller percentage of the bail amount. The arrested person will then be allowed to leave jail until the court date.
A bail bond is a form of surety bond that ensures that the arrested offender attends court. The bond is used as insurance that the offender will come back for his or her court date. The bail is forfeited if the offender misses the court date, leading to significant problems for both of you.
When the Offender Does Not Show Up to Court
If the offender does not come to court on his or her court date, the judge will issue a warrant for arrest. In cases like this, a person will sometimes skip bail and hide from law enforcement. If the offender is not found, you are then charged the entire amount of the bail, less the percentage you paid the bail bonds company. If you put up any property as collateral in lieu of cash, that will be used to satisfy some of the bond. You will no longer have any ownership rights to that property.
If you intend to bail someone out of jail, understand that you are taking a very large risk. You will be in a position to be out of money, property, and possibly a relationship if someone skips town while out on bail. If you used your only vehicle as collateral, you are in an even worse position because you now have no reliable way to get to your job. If you are considering bonding someone out of jail, you need to think long and hard about how much trust you can put into that person to do the right thing.
To learn more about bail bonds, check out websites like https://www.abailnowbailbonds.com/.
Share8 February 2018
