Four Terms You Need to Know When Bailing Someone Out
If you need a Simi Valley bail agent and you don’t have a full understanding of the terms bail, bail bonds, cash bail and indemnity, you should keep reading. After all, you are the surety … you are the person responsible for how your loved one or friend responds to the court. Signing a bail bond contract is a right and an important one — it’s your ability to help out somewhere you care about, someone who is possibly wrongly charged with a crime and possibly exposed to danger within the confines of a cell. Most people don’t go to jail often, if ever, so this danger can also come from within in the form of fear and anxiety. Nobody should have to suffer like this because everyone is innocent until proven guilty.
1. Indemnitor
Indemnitor is another term for surety, which is what you become when you agree to when you cosign the bail bond paperwork of a defendant you want to assist. You assume all responsibility financially, including the fee of the bondsman, so it’s all up to you. If your defendant doesn’t want to show up, you have to convince them or lose your money. Remember that you are also responsible for the fees required to find and return the defendant to court. Bounty hunters are good at their jobs, so it’s easier to just let logic prevail and face the courts as scheduled.
2. Bail
Bail is the amount of money that must be paid to free a person from custody until the time of their court date. Your Simi Valley bail bonds person will pay this fee in full to the court, while you pay the bail bonds person a non-refundable 10% of the fee, as dictated by California state law. When your loved one shows up for court, the full bail price is returned to the bail bondsman and he or she keeps your 10% as a fee for the service, or collects this 10% in installments if your credit is worthy. That makes your bondsman arguably the most important micro lender you could ever need to call upon, which is why the service has been around for well over a century.
3. Bail Bonds
A bail bond is a guarantee on a piece of paper that your Simi Valley bail bondsman will use to post at a jail. This lets the court rest assured that the defendant will show up in court at the scheduled time, or reschedule following state law; secondly, a bail bond cites yourself as the person responsible for paying the entirety of the bail, along with your bondsman. This is your penalty for the actions of the person you backed as a cosigner of a potentially very large loan. That said, you should not take becoming a surety lightly; carefully consider the person you are backing, their history and your relation to them. Are they reliable, or will they take advantage of you? Often times loved ones, in their time of need, prompt strong urges to help from family members, but if their bond is forfeited you’ll be left holding the bag.
4. Cash Bail
Most people can’t pay a bail price in cash, but if you can — in the case of wealth or a low bail amount — then all you have to do is take said cash to the jail itself and pay up. There’s no need to enlist the help of professionals licensed to help with bail bonds in Simi Valley. When your loved one or friend completes the case in question, your money will be returned by the county. Likewise, if the opposite occurs and your friend or loved one jumps bail, your money will be kept. Yes, there is the chance to have it paid back to you and there is a grace period in California, but you’re better off not running the risk.
Contact us now to get your loved one or friend bailed out as fast as possible.