When a friend or family member has been arrested, they may turn to you for help in posting their bail. If you agree to help them, you will have the option to either pay the full bail amount directly to the court or jail, or to use the services of a bail bondsman. When you sign a bail bond contract with a licensed bail bond company, you become known as the indemnitor. This means that you are assuming responsibility to the court and the bail bond agent.
As the signer of a bail bond contract, you are guaranteeing that the defendant will show up for court. In many cases where the defendant fails to appear, it is a simple situation such as an illness, car trouble, or just forgetting the date of the court hearing. Situations such as these are understandable and can be resolved easily by reinstating the bond and rescheduling a new court date.
There are occasionally instances where the defendant has no intention of making their court appearance once they've been bailed out. If you have any reason to believe that the defendant will purposefully skip court and even leave the area, do not consider bailing them out. You won't be criminally liable for the defendant's actions, but you will be civilly liable.
It is important for you to understand the bail bonds process and your responsibilities as an indemnitor before you enter into a bail bond contract on someone else's behalf. As signer you are responsible for the defendant's appearance at every court hearing. If they fail to appear in court, you are responsible to help the bondsman get the defendant back into court or jail.
If it becomes necessary for the bail bond agent to apprehend the defendant because they refuse to go to court, the agent will use the services of a fugitive recovery person, or "bounty hunter." In these circumstances, you as the indemnitor will be liable for paying any additional expenses that come from hiring a bounty hunter.
The amount of time that an agent has to locate and bring in the defendant varies by state, but is generally about six months. If the defendant is not apprehended in that time period, you will also be responsible for paying the full amount of the bond as well as any additional expenses and any unpaid premium. For example, if the bond for the defendant is $50,000 and the defendant fails to appear or is not brought in within the time allowed, the indemnitor will have to repay the $50,000.
If someone you know has been arrested, you may want to do what you can to bail them out so they won't have to spend too long in jail. Before making what could be a very costly decision, think it over carefully. If you have any reason to believe that he or she will refuse to appear in court once they've been released, don't arrange bail for them. It may seem very harsh to just let them sit in jail during their court proceedings, which could last weeks, months, or even years, but it would be a great financial liability to you if you posted a bond for them and they decided to leave the area instead of handling their legal issues.
The Rynerson family of bondsmen has been providing California bail bonds with integrity since 1971. When you need options for bail or to learn about the bail bonds process, contact an expert bail bondsman. Greg Rynerson Bail Bonds serves all jails in California.
No comments:
Post a Comment