If you were ever called in the middle of the night by a loved one and they asked you to bail them out of jail, do you know what to do? Obviously, we hope you never have to be in that situation, but just in case, we are going to lay out the process for you to help remove some of the stress and uncertainty.
A bail bond is basically a contract with a bail bondsman that allows for the release of a defendant from prison. We primarily assist those that are accused of criminal offenses. The bail bond is used as a guarantee that the defendant will return to the court at required dates. This is so the defendant doesn’t have to sit in jail until their trial. Instead, the bail bondsman will post bail and the accused will be released from jail until the trial. As you can probably tell, being out of prison as much as possible is desirable.
The judge that the defendant appears before will set the amount of bail that must be paid. If they can’t pay bail, they will then have to rely on friends or family to post the bail for them. But often bail can be a substantial amount, and this is where a bail bondsman comes in. The bail bondsman will pay the bail amount, and the friends, or family who represent the defendant will just pay a percentage of the total bond. So for example, if bail is $1,000, then all you would have to pay is $100. In some states, you can put a down payment on the total, and pay over time. However, in Indiana, the entire percentage is due at one time. Once the defendant returns for all the required trial days, the money is returned to the bail bondsman.
We are often asked, “What happens if the accused person doesn’t return for their court dates?” If this happens then the bail money will be forfeited to the court, and the bail bondsman will use the collateral to recoup this amount. Whoever represented the defendant and contacted the bail bondsman will ultimately be financially responsible for this cost. There are also the other legal ramifications of not showing up in court when summoned, which can result in more charges. All that to say, you need to make sure that the defendant is present on the required dates. If you would like more information about bail bonds and how they work, you can contact us any time at 574-538-4964.
