What is bail? Bail is an amount of money in cash, property or a surety bond for the purpose of ensuring a defendant shows up to all scheduled court appearances. It also permits the defendant to be out of jail until the case is finished. The defendant can post their own bail or rely on a friend or family member to do it for them, as long as they are over the age of 18. Bailing a family member or friend out of jail can be costly. What can you expect as to getting it back? Ajua Bail Bonds delves into this below.
What Type of Bail is Most Common?
Surety Bail – Going with surety bail is good if you don’t have the whole amount or you’re concerned that you may not get your money back after bailing someone out. When you use a bail agent to get surety bail it will be less expensive because you’ll pay a bail premium that is a percentage of the total amount of bail. This is commonly called a bail bond and this premium is non-refundable. It’s typically 10-20% of the bail amount. This fee covers the bail bond agents’ services to the defendant in managing and ensuring that he or she will be present at all scheduled court appearances.
Cash Bail – Cash bail is paying the full amount to the court directly and allows you to receive the full amount back once the defendant makes all scheduled appearances in court. If for any reason the defendant doesn’t show up, the money will be forfeited and you will never see the cash again. The bond will be discharged if the defendant is not found guilty; the defendant pleading guilty means the bond will be discharged at sentencing.
Property Bond – Property bond means that the real value of a property was offered to the court so the defendant could be released from jail and is similar to cash bail. The property will be seized if the deferment fails to appear in court.
How Long Does it Take to Get Your Bond Money Back?
If the defendant is found guilty the bail money will be applied to court fees which means you won’t get the money back. To get an idea of when you will receive a refund of any money or property you put up you’ll need to find out the date the case ended. Typically, you’ll wait anywhere from two to six weeks from the date the case ended for the court to send your money. If after six weeks you haven’t received your check, you’ll need to get in touch with the court. You will be able to find out if there were any problems in issuing the check. Make sure you have as much information as possible regarding the case to make it easier for them to figure out if there were any issues. Try and have the date that the case ended of the case number when you call. If you move or your contact information changes, you need to let the court know right away to prevent any delays in getting your refund check.
Bail Bond Services in Clovis, Reedley, Sanger, Selma, Atwater, Los Banos, Merced, Visalia, Porterville, Tulare, Hanford, Corcoran, Lemoore & Greater Fresno, CA
Having a loved one sent to jail can be an upsetting experience. Hiring a bail company will take a lot of the stress away. Contact Ajua Bail Bonds to go over all your options.
