What Happens to a Cosigner of a Bail Bond?
A bail bond is a type of surety bond. What this does is ensures that a defendant will appear in court after being released from jail. For defendants who cannot afford the bail amount in cash, they can get a bail bond instead from bail bondsmen.
How a Bail Bond Works
A bail is set by a judge for court hearings. An accused can be set free if he or she can afford the bail. Whether they win or lose the case in the end, the money is returned back to them in full. The purpose of bail is to ensure their appearance and participation in the upcoming legal proceedings.
The amount for bail varies depending on different factors that a judge would consider. This can include the case, the background of the person, and whether or not they pose a threat to the community.
There are cases wherein the accused or defendant cannot afford the amount set by the court for bail. In these cases, they have the option to get a bail bond.
Bail bondsmen would normally ask for 10% of the bail amount upfront. The rest of the money is then covered by collateral from the defendant. If they do not have enough collateral to cover the amount, they can seek help from their family or friends who can cosign for the bond.
Co-Signing a Bail Bond
When a person co-signs a bail bond, he or she becomes equally obligated to pay the full amount of bail if the defendant fails to appear in court. It is essentially a vouch to the bail bondsman that whatever happens, they will get their money back.
In most cases, co-signing a bail bond would also incur pledging property or providing collateral. This can include properties such as homes, lots of land, cash, cars, jewelry, stocks, or other tangible property of value. This provides a guarantee that the co-signee can, in fact, afford to pay off the bail bond.
If the worst happens and the defendant do not appear in court, then it is up to the co-signee to settle things. They can either pay off the bail bond in cash or the property they used to leverage the bond would be surrendered to the bail bondsman.
Of course, the co-signee do have certain rights such as being able to cancel the bond if they feel that the defendant has no intention to appear in court. If that is the case, they simply call the bail bondsman to cancel and the defendant would be picked up and returned to jail.
Before Co-Signing a Bail Bond
If you are asked by your family member or friend to co-sign a bail bond, you should first know everything you need to about it. First of all, not everyone can become a co-signee to a bail bond. You should first be a legal citizen of the United States. Second, you should have lived in the same area for a certain amount of time. You should also have stable employment and sufficient funds in order to become a co-signee.
If you tick all these boxes, here are some other important notes when you co-sign a bail bond.
- Once you do this, the accused would then be released from jail as per bail.
- It is the authority and the duty of the co-signer of the bail bond to ensure that the accused is present in all court hearings and meetings as well as other requirements as specified by the bond.
- The co-signer has the right to request certain stipulations for the bail bond. An example of this is requiring the accused to attend a drug treatment program.
- If at any point in time the co-signer becomes uncomfortable with the situation or becomes suspicious of the actions of the accused, he or she can request the cancellation of the bail bond and the defendant would be sent back to jail.
- If the accused flees and the co-signee has knowledge of his or her whereabouts, they can contact the bail bond company so they can be sent back to jail and the bond would be cancelled.
Becoming a co-signee to a bail bond is serious. You would be dealing with a lot of money here and are on the hook for the actions of another person. Unless you really know and trust the accused you are dealing with, then co-signing a bail bond with them can be a bad idea.
If you are in need of bail bonds California however, we offer great services here at ABC Bonding. We help each and everyone of our clients from the get go so that you do not make the wrong decision. We offer free consultations even before you sign with us! If you are interested, you can book your consultation with us today by contacting us.
Related Tag: California Bail Bonds