Have you just received a phone call from your friend, informing you that they were arrested and are now in jail? If so, you may have been asked to help bail him out. If you are not familiar with what you need to do, here is what you and your friend will be responsible for.
How You Can Help
If you do not have the cash on hand to post your friend's bail, you'll need to get in touch with a local bail bondsman. It is common for there to be several in the area, especially around where the jail is located. While you may feel embarrassed going to a bail bondsman, don't be. It is a normal procedure, and a bondsman has handled these situations more times than you can imagine.
Be upfront about the situation and the money you need for bail. The bondsman will let you know what sort of information you need to bring with you to receive the money. For instance, you will need to give the bondsman specific identifying information about yourself and your friend, as well as collateral that can be used to recover the bail amount if your friend does not show up to court.
The bondsman may also require references for your friend to prove that they are a good person and will not skip bail and miss their court date.
How Your Friend Can Help
Once your friend has been released from jail, there will be some things they are responsible for doing as part of the deal. For starters, they'll need to visit the bondsman to provide information about themselves. There will be plenty of paperwork to sign that identifies what they are responsible for as part of receiving bail money, and how they must comply.
Remind your friend that they must show up for court dates and follow the rules of probation, or they run the risk of losing their bail money.
Understand the Consequences
You must realize that there is a potential that you could end up being stuck with paying the premium for the bail bond, which is the fee the bondsman requests in exchange for giving you the money. You know your friend better than anybody else, so it may be best to come up with a payment plan to pay the money back to you. If you expect that your friend won't pay you back, then prepare yourself from the beginning about the money being gone.
Contact a company like Goldfarb Bonding Agency for more information and assistance.
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