Bail is the sum of money that acts as insurance between the court and the person in jail. Defendants have the option to pay their bail in cash, but many cannot do this. Since bail is often set at a high amount, most defendants are financially unable to post bail by themselves. They can ask help from a bail agent, who displays a bail bonds Chula Vista.
People who have not gone through this process are faced with a bail situation but don’t know how to deal with it. If you have to pay $50,000 in bail, does not mean they need to stay in jail if they cannot afford to pay the entire amount. A person can hire a bond dealer to pay for the required bail amount and help them with the payment methods that suit their situation.
A bail bond is a form of payment granted on a defendant’s behalf by a bail bond agent. They are also known as bondsmen, that pays the bond on behalf of the defendants. When defendants utilize a bail bond agent, they pay a certain agent a fee, and the agent acts as a guaranty, assuring the court that they will give the full bond amount should the defendant fail to appear at court.
How It Works
Bail bond agents earn money by getting a fee from those who want to bailout. The usual fee is 10% to 15% of the total amount of bail. For example, a court sets a defendant’s bail at $10,000, that the defendant can pay a bail bond agent $1,000, and the bond agent will serve as a guarantor on the defendant’s behalf.
They can also use their property as bonds; bail bond agents typically require the defendant or the paying party to provide collateral or some other form of security against the bond. For example, a bond agent may need the defendant to give the bond agent pieces of jewelry as a collateral that the bond agent can sell to recover the full amount if the defendant decides not to appear in court hearings. Similarly, the bondsmen might require the defendant, or someone else, to sign a security interest in a car, home, or another piece of property that the bond agent can repossess if the defendant fails to appear.
Bail is not a type of punishment or a criminal sentence; someone who pays a bond is allowed to have that money returned if the defendant complies with all bail terms and conditions. Generally, there are two possible outcomes when someone pays bail: the bail is released back to the payer, or the bond is forfeited.