Using Collateral to Cover a Bail Bond

12:50 AM in Business

Few things are more shocking than getting a phone call in the middle of the night letting you know that a family member has been arrested and needs your help to get out of jail. No one plans on having to help someone with bail and this is especially true when it comes to financial matters. Depending on the reason for the arrest, a bail bond can be expensive and require a significant amount of money up front.

If you work with a bail bondsman, they will charge a premium in exchange for agreeing to pay the entire amount of the bond. This amount is determined as a percentage of the total bond amount. In most states, this percentage is set by regulations. For example, in California, bail bondsman must set the premium at 10 percent of the total bond amount.

Bondsmen are not allowed to charge more than this and cannot give a "discount" to clients.

Find the related info about Bail Bonds through the San Antonio Bail Bonds.

So what do you do if you need to secure a bond but don't have the cash on hand to pay the premium? One answer is to use collateral.

This is essentially giving control of a physical asset to a bondsman as assurance that the person who is receiving the bond will make all of their court dates and fulfill all of their legal obligations.

Certain providers of professional bail bond services will accept collateral in lieu of monetary payment to cover the cost of a bail bond premium. In addition, a judge might also allow the court to accept collateral instead of money to cover bail if you are working directly with the court system to arrange for bail.