Sometimes financial problems can be solved relatively easily. I was struggling to make it from week to week until I learned that some financial organization could change my spending habits. If you can organize your personal finances, you will see exactly where all of your hard earned money goes. You will be shocked to see how much the morning coffee and donuts cost you each month. This blog will provide you with information that can help you get your personal finances organized so that you don't have to continue struggling from paycheck to paycheck throughout each and every month this year.
A bail bond is a type of insurance policy that makes it possible for an individual who has been arrested and charged of a crime to be released before their trial. By utilizing this type of policy, the individual agrees to show up for every court trial and hearing. Missing just one court session can cause the bail bond to shift to a forfeiture status which can be very bad for the individual who originally signed the bail bond on behalf of the defendant.
Before you sign the dotted line on a bail bond for your loved one, it is beneficial to know what to do as well as what not to do if you find yourself in this situation.
The Do's of Signing a Bail Bond
Do Have a Strong Relationship with the Defendant: You should never bail someone out of jail if you are just a casual friend to him or her. There is a big difference between bailing out your child or your spouse and bailing out your neighbor or your co-worker. You need to ask yourself how well you know the individual you are bailing out and if you trust them to keep up his or her end of the bail agreement.
Do Understand What Charges The Individual is Facing: It is in your best interest to have a clear understanding of why your loved one is in jail before you assist in posting his or her bail. Is this person responsible? Is this person going to get a lawyer? Are they going to keep the bail bond promise they made? You need to have a clear understanding of how much of a risk you are putting yourself at by bailing this individual out.
The Don'ts of Signing a Bail Bond
Don't Harbor the Defendant: It is never in your best interest to attempt to harbor your loved one just because you do not want them to go to jail. This means you should not be hiding them in your home and you should avoid neglecting to tell the proper authorities anything you know about where your loved one is or how to contact them. Even something as small as knowing your loved one's current phone number and not turning it over can end up getting you in trouble.
Do Not Try To Run Away to Avoid Having to Pay: The unfortunate truth is when your loved one skips bail and misses a court date, you become financially responsible for the entire bail bond. This is something you agree to when you originally signed the bail bond. As tempting as it might be, running away from the bail bond agent or avoiding him or her is not going to make your situation better. It is in your best interest to meet with the agent and work out some kind of payment schedule to get the bail bond paid off. Most agents would be happy to work with you to figure out a payment schedule you can commit to. However, they are only going to be willing to do this if you are upfront and honest with them.
The key thing to understand is a bail bondsman is just operating a business. When someone skips bail, financially, it puts the bondsman on the hook. For this reason, a bail bondsman will do whatever he or she needs to do in order to track down both you and your loved one. Only sign a bail bond if you are 100 percent comfortable doing so. It also doesn't hurt to know you would be able to pay the bond off if your loved one were to skip bail.
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