4 Things To Know About Having Someone Co-Sign On A Bail Bond For You

When you get arrested, you don't want to have to wait in jail until your trial. Waiting for your trial can be a long process. Being behind bars the entire time hampers your ability to work on your defense and to go about living your life until a verdict can actually be made in your case.

Bail Allows You to Get Out of Jail While Awaiting Trial

That is why the bail bond was created, to give you an opportunity to leave jail while putting money on the line to ensure that you come back for the trial process and don't skip town.

In order to get out on bail, you have to come up with money for the bail amount. If you can't come up with money for the entire bail amount, you can work with a bail bond agency. They will not require you to put up the entire bail bond amount; instead, they will have you pay a fee and put down a deposit for the loan. They will also have you put down collateral to back up the money they are lending you for the bail bond process.

You Can Have Someone Co-Sign the Loan

If you don't have enough collateral on your own for the bail bond process, you can have a friend or family member co-sign on the bail bond for you. Co-signing for a bail bond is similar to co-signing for a loan. The person who co-signed the bail is responsible for paying the bail if you skip out on the court process or don't follow the rules of your bail. The person who co-signs is more than likely offering up their property as collateral instead of your property, which means they are the ones who will take a financial hit if you don't follow the rules while out on bail.

The Co-Signer Can Add Bail Terms

When someone co-signs on a loan for you, they can actually set additional stipulations for the bail. This is allowed when you have someone co-sign on the loan with you. These stipulations cannot be outrageous and must be reasonable. For example, they may require you to get a job or continue going to work. You should only allow someone to co-sign on a bail bond for you if you are willing to follow the additional stipulations that they put on the bail amount.

The Co-Signer Is On the Hook if You Jump Bail

If you break the terms of your bail, your co-signer is on the hook. They will have to pay your entire bail amount to the bail bond company. They will either have to pay cash or give up the items that they put up for collateral. Not following the terms of your bail can have serious financial consequences for the person you ask to co-sign the loan, so you should only ask them to co-sign if you are serious about following the terms and conditions of the bail.

For more information, contact a company like Affordable Bail Bonds.