Shaping Your Financial Future

2 Things You Need To Understand As A Co-Signer On A Bail Bond

29 October 2015 by Angie Wells

Finding out that a loved one has been arrested can be terrifying. You are stuck trying to figure everything out in a short amount of time. It can be confusing trying to determine who you need to contact, what you need to do, how to do it and much more. After all, it isn't every day that you deal with someone being put behind bars. In the event the person has been granted bail, you can contact a bail bondsman to get them out of jail quickly and easily. However, there are a few things you need to understand about how the whole process works beforehand.

A bail bond is a legally binding contract.

When you sign the bail bond, you are entering into a contract. If there are things that you don't understand or have questions on, take the time to ask the bondsman to explain it to you. That's what they are there for is to help you out in your time of need. A good bondsman will spend as much time as needed to make sure you know what you are getting yourself into and how the process works. You need to feel comfortable with signing your name to the papers.

You are taking responsibility for the other person when you sign the bond.

You might not realize it, but you are taking responsibility by signing your name on the line for a couple different things. You are agreeing that the defendant is going to show up in court when they are supposed to. Just because the person might have been released from jail, that doesn't mean their case is done and over with. There is still more they need to do before the terms of the bond have been met.

The defendant will need to continue going to court until they have been sentenced. If they end up fleeing and don't go to court, they will attempt to find the individual and bring them in to finish the process. In the event they cannot locate the other party, you could be liable for the entire amount of their bail as a penalty for them running from the law. Because of this, you need to make sure you can trust the individual to do the right thing.

Bail bonds are there to help you out when you need to get a loved one out of jail, but you need to make sure you are confident in your decision beforehand.

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