All Things Bail Bonds

When you pay a bail bondsmen, you are paying 10% of the total bond. So if the bond is 3,000 dollars, then you pay the bondsmen 300 dollars. He puts up the remaining 2700 dollars. If the person doesn’t show up for court, then he can sue/attempt to collect the 2700. Or if he catches the fugitive, then you don’t have to pay, I believe. It’s been a while, but if the person shows up for all of the court hearings, then I think you can get some of the 10% back (minus his fee).

Bail Bond money is held by the court. It insures that the accused will appear in court until the case is completed. Once the case is over, the money goes back to the person that put up the bond money. If the accused doesn’t have the money to post the whole amount of the bond, a bail bondsman can be asked to post the bond amount, but the accused (or his friends and/or family) must give the bondsman usually 10% of the amount of the bond, and they do not get that back…it’s a fee to the bondsman. If the accused fails to appear in court, the bonding company will use bail enforcement agents to attempt to apprehend the accused and return him to police custody. If that is not done within a reasonable period of time, the court can collect the full amount of the bond from the bondsman.

If you put up the money yourself it is a way to guarranty that you’ll show up for trial. If you don’t show it is forfeited and the county or state keeps it. If you show up and lose your trial it can be used for part of or all of your fine or if there is jail time and no fine it will be returned to you. If you pay a bondsman to bail you out he puts up the bail amount and charges you a fee for doing so, and you don’t get anything back, and if you don’t show up for your trial you will have the bondsman’s people hunting you along with the law.

Bail money gets returned to the defendant after the case is settled.

Bond money goes to the bondsman as a fee for risk of covering the bail.

WHEN A PERSONS BAIL IS SET, YOU NORMALLY PAY 10%. BUT WHAT I LEARNED, IS THAT WHEN A PERSON SKIPS TOWN AND YOU HAVE TO PAY THE BAIL, MOST OF THE MONEY IS NOT ACTUALLY GOING TO THE LEGAL SYSTEM, MOST OF IT IS POCKETED BY THE BAIL BONDSMEN. NO LIE, I HAD A FRIEND WHOS UNCLE WAS A BONDSMEN. MY IDIOT EXHUSBAND SIGNED HIS NAME ON A BOND, SO WHEN THE GUY SKIPPED TOWN, WE OWED 800 DOLLARS, WE PAID AROUND 200, AND THE FRIENDS UNCLE LET US OUT OF IT. HE SAID MOST OF IT GOES TO HIM ANYWAY.