Updated 05/17/22
If you’re arrested, you might be offered bail and surety in order to get out of jail before your court date. Bail can vary depending on your charge and criminal history. The bail amount for assault with a deadly weapon will be much higher than the bail for shoplifting. However, if you can’t afford bail for crimes, you might be stuck in jail. If this is the case, consider bailbonds. A bail bond is a loan that is provided on your behalf to the courts in order to pay your bail. When you fulfill your responsibilities, the bail bondsman gets the money back and you pay a fee.
If you use a bond, you need to be sure that you understand your responsibilities. If you get arrested while on bail or don’t show up for your court date, you could lose your bail money. This means the bond is taken from the bail bondsman for failure to appear. Not only are you now in more legal trouble, but you owe the bondsman the amount of the bond as well as your fee.
Although bail is a large amount of money to pay, it’s better than sitting in jail awaiting trial. Most people cannot afford bail, or have family to pay their bail, so they need to get a bail bond. Greg Padilla from Greg Padilla Bail Bonds explains how bail bonds work.
A bail bond is similar to a loan. A bail bond company sends a local bail bondsman to pay your bond in full to the court. You then have to pay the bail bond company the amount of the bail bond, plus fees.
You usually wind up paying about ten percent more than the bail to the bail bond company.
People who work for bail bond companies are not allowed to hang around jails, looking for clients. You, your lawyer, or someone you trust has to contact a bail bond company to arrange a bail bond.
Courts look at bail bonds as insurance policies. Part of the bail bond company’s job is to make sure you show up for your court dates. If you miss a court date, then the bail bond company loses out on a lot of money. Your bail bond may require a co-signer, such as a parent, that helps guarantee that you are going to show up for any court dates.
