Image Licensing Protections: An Introduction

To Bail Or Not To Bail: Should You Post Bail For Your Person?

19 November 2018

Judy Alexander

In many households, the phone doesn't ring in the middle of the night unless the person calling has terrible news. If you get the call in the middle of the night informing you that someone that you care about has been arrested and will be needing bail, panic can immediately set in. If you've never posted bail for anyone before, just the thought of it can be overwhelming. Here, you'll find a few tips that can help you decide if it's in your best interest to post bail for the one who called.

Your Relationship

How important is this person to you? Of course, if it's your son, daughter or spouse, you're going to want to move mountains to get him or her out of jail, but if you're considering bailing out a friend or someone that you just know, you might want to give pause.

Make sure that you care about the person enough to put yourself in the middle of their legal situation.

Your Finances

Do you have the extra money to take the loss if the person doesn't appear in front of the judge when they are scheduled to? If bailing this person out is going to be too much of a financial burden for you, make sure that you consider your decision carefully.

In some instances, you won't have to pull any cash out of your checking account to cover the bail, but you may have to provide some sort of collateral. It could be the title for a vehicle, a piece of jewelry, or anything of value that the bondsman can sell to recover the cost of the bond.

The Person

Even if you love this person with all of your heart, you have to know that you can trust the person to not only show up, but to not make any further mistakes while he or she awaits the hearing and sentencing. You don't want to have to live with the fact that this person hurt someone else when they were out on the bail that you've paid. If you know the person and can trust that they aren't a flight-risk and that they aren't a danger to themselves or society, the risk should be minimal. If you know there's a chance they won't show or that they could hurt someone, let them sit in jail. It won't be easy for either of you, but it's the best for everyone.

Talk with your local bail bondsman to learn more about what it will take to get your person out of jail and how to protect yourself from losses if they should fail to comply. For more information, contact a company such as Alpha Omega Bail Bonds today.

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