Things To Note About Your Bail Bonds Contract
At times, you might feel obligated to post a bail for a friend or a family member who has been arrested after committing a crime. While you might want your friend or relative to get out of jail as soon as possible by signing a bail bond contract, it is important to understand that a bail bond contract has very serious obligations. Therefore, it important to learn certain things before signing that bail bond contract for your friend or relative.
Bail bond requirements
Bail bonds are similar to an insurance policy, and it can be secured with certified funds, assets, cash, or credit card. Singing a bail bonds contract helps in ensuring that a defendant complies with the court's obligations regarding their previous arrest, which is, the defendant should never fail to show up for a scheduled court date.
It is possible to pay a certain percentage or premium of the set bail amount for someone to be released out of jail. However, this depends on the amount that the judge sets. After signing a bail agreement, you take the following responsibilities:
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Ensuring that the offender appears for all the required court dates—at times, you might be required to seek assistance from a bail bondsman to make sure that the defendant complies.
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In case the defendant does not appear or misses a court date, you can lose the money that you paid for them to be released—in addition, you might end up paying extra money to facilitate for the recovery of the fugitive.
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If the fugitive cannot be recovered, you might be asked to pay the full amount of the original bail that was set by the judge. For instance, if the judge set the bail at $50,000 and you were required to pay 10% of that amount as bail bond, you might be required to pay the remaining 90% if the offender absconds court.
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The judge might ask you to put collateral that is supposed to cover for the cost of the bail amount in the event that the defendant fails to comply.
Before signing the bail agreement, it is important to understand that you will be expected to honor it. You cannot cancel the contract even when the offender absconds their court date. Singing the contract means that you agree to take responsibility to ensure that the offender appears in court, and if they fail to appear, you will pay for set bail. It is important to understand that signing the a bail bonds contract is risking losing your money or property.
For more information, contact local professionals like those found at Bail Bond BY Affordable Bonding.
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