What is Bail?
Bail is a set amount of money that acts as insurance between the court and the person in jail ~ the defendant. Defendants have the option to pay the bail in cash, but often cannot do this alone. These individuals seek assistance from a Bail Agent or Bondsman, who posts a bond at the jail for them.
What is a Bail Bondsman?
Bail bondsmen provide the funds necessary to release a criminal offender prior to their trial; this is usually secured by property collateral or a co-signer. Bail recovery agents are usually responsible for tracking down, arresting and returning a fugitive defendant for their court date.
What is a Bail Bond?
A Bail Bond is a type of surety bond provided by a surety bond company through a bail agent or Bail Bondsman that secures the release of a defendant from jail. There are two types of Bail Bonds:
- Criminal Bail Bond: used in criminal cases and guarantees that a defendant appear for trial when called upon by the court and guarantees payment for any fines or penalties that are decided against the defendant.
- Civil Bail Bond: used in civil cases and guarantee the payment of the debt, plus interest and costs, assessed against the defendant.
What are the types of Bonds?
There are several types of bonds that allow your loved ones to get released from jail before their next court date. They are:
ROR: The court system deems that the defendant can be released on their own recognizance, the defendants promise o appears at all subsequent court dates.
Cash Bond: The full amount of of bond must be paid to the jail in cash. All fines and court costs will be subtracted from this amount. Not only the current case, but any past cased on which money is owed. The balance will be returned to the depositor.
Surety Bond: A bondsman will charge you 10% of the face amount of the bond. This is a non-refundable fee and is set by Florida State Statute. Any bond under $1,000.00 has a minimum fee of $100.00
What to expect when posting bail?
A bonding agency will normally ask information about you, your family and the charges. The bonding agency will contact the family with the number provided by the defendant. Three way calls are not allowed by the jail facilities.
How do Bail Bonds work?
A judge sets a bail amount. If the defendant cannot pay the bail amount on their own, they can seek help from a Bail bondsman in the form of a Bail Bond.
To post a Bond, a defendant’s friend or family member is required by the State of Florida to pay a Bail bondsman 10% of the bail amount. The 10% is the non-refundable fee to the Bail Bondsman or Bail Company.
The Bail bondsman will then secure the rest of the bail amount in the form of collateral. If the defendant does not have enough collateral, the Bail Bondsman might seek out relatives and friends to assist in covering the bail.
What happens next depends on if the defendant appears in court after being released.
- If defendant fails to appear in court: The Bond is forfeited and the court requires the bond to be paid in full to the Clerk of Court. The Bail Bondsman will use the defendant’s collateral to cover all costs.
- If a defendant does appear for court: Upon conclusion of the court case, the Bail Bond is discharged and the collateral is returned to the person who provided it. The Bail bondsman retains the 10% fee.
What type of collateral does Big Daddy Bail Bonds, Inc accept?
- Real estate deeds
- Vehicle titles
- Cash Collateral
What happens if the defendant gets re-arrested while out on bail?
If the defendant gets re-arrested on other charge(s) and a new bond is set by the judge at bond hearing, another bond can be posted for the new charge(s). Otherwise, the original bond can be surrendered and your liability will be terminated.