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Using Collateral for Bail

Using Collateral for Bail Bonds

Sometimes, someone who has been living a decent life will end up being haunted by their past in unexpected ways. One way this can happen is when someone with a criminal record ends up being arrested for something relatively minor, but still ends up getting a very high bail amount set because of their record. In such cases, family members will generally want to get the defendant out of jail so that they can spend time with family and friends. Another good reason to get someone out of jail in these situations is that they may very well end up losing their job, losing their apartment and so forth and still end up being found innocent of the charges against them. Collateral may provide a way for you to get someone in this situation out of jail.

Collateral and Bail Bonds

Commercial bondsmen stay in business by charging a percentage of the total bail amount ordered by the judge for a given defendant to whoever is putting up the bail. Normally, this is quite affordable. There are situations, however, where the bail amount may be so high that paying the percentage fee to get a bail bond is out of the financial wherewithal of the defendant’s family.

In these situations, the bail bondsman may be willing to accept collateral as a way to back up the bond. If the bond is extremely high and you do have the money to pay for it, they may also ask for collateral, simply because they’re taking a lot of risk in providing such a bond.

Remember that the collateral will have to be of a value commensurate with the bail amount set. For instance, if someone has their bail set at $100,000 and you need to come up with the $10,000 to bail them out, something such real estate might be acceptable collateral, depending upon its value.

Other items you may want to consider putting up as collateral include valuable jewelry, electronics, or anything else that would give the bail bondsman some way to secure the bond that they’re giving you in the event that the person being bailed out of jail skips out on their court date. Some families who are facing extremely high bail will end up putting up their house as collateral. The good news is that, once you pay off the bail bond and the person shows up in court as ordered, your obligation to the bail bondsman is over.