Using A Bail Bondsman Vs. Posting Bail
If you or someone you care about has found themselves in police custody, it is difficult to think about anything except how to get back to freedom as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the thing that usually stands between a prisoner and a return to normalcy is a hefty bail. For many people, this bail may be too much of a financial hardship to even consider. Although the posted bail is not allowed to be excessive, the judge is under no obligation to set a bail that is necessarily easily affordable. This is where bail bondsmen come in, and they can potentially help you or the person you care about get out of jail as quickly as possible.
The Difference Between Bonds and Posting Bail
Bail is the amount of money or other assets that you must provide to the court to secure your release from jail. Bail is fully refundable and will be returned to you once you have made yourself present for your court date. Although this amount is fully refundable, it may be larger than what you are easily capable of paying. To help overcome this issue, bail bonds are also an option. When using a bond, you pay a percentage fee to the bail bondsman and also secure the bond with an asset as collateral. Unlike posting bail, your bond fee is not returned to you. In essence, you are paying a flat fee to be released from jail in order to avoid securing the full amount necessary for bail.
What Happens to Your Asset?
Since you generally must use an asset to secure the bail bondsman's loan, you may be wondering what will happen to your asset should you fail to attend your court date. Aside from the fact that the bondsman is likely to hire a bounty hunter to force your appearance, your asset will also be forfeited. In some cases, you may be able to have the asset returned if you appear in court within a certain timeframe, but in general, missing your court date means that you will lose your collateral as well. Additionally, future bail may be set at a higher amount since you have demonstrated an unwillingness to follow through on your obligations.
The Advantages of 24-Hour Bondsman Services
24-hour bondsman services will generally guarantee that they can get you out of jail within 24 hours. This is often helpful since it means you will spend less time in holding and can potentially avoid being transferred to a more long-term facility. Although your fee to the bondsman will not be refunded, this is often a much better option than attempting to take out loans or otherwise create more financial difficulty for yourself by attempting to raise a bail amount that is too far out of reach.