Budget Concerns: How Much Insurance is Enough?

3 Things To Know About Bail Money

30 December 2014

Dustin Duncan

Bailing a close friend or family member out of jail can be a costly event, especially if you have to pay for the entire bond. After doing this, you may anticipate getting this money back in the future, but it might not be as easy as you think it will be. Here are three things you should know about getting your bail money back.

1. Friend Must Go To Court

When a person is bailed out, it means that the jail lets the person out in exchange for money. This money is called bail, and it is designed to encourage the person to attend the court dates set up for the crime he or she allegedly committed. If you pay the bail, make sure that the jailer places your name on the form. This will ensure that the bail money will be returned to you if the court releases it.

If the person fails to show up to court, the bail money is forfeited, which means that you will not get one cent back that you used to bail him or her out of jail. On the other hand, the court will release the bail money if the person shows up to all court appearances.

2. You Must Wait

As long as the person shows up to court, you will have a good chance of getting the bail money back; however, this entire process takes time. Some court systems will not release bail money until the court has made a decision on the case. Other courts may release the bail money sooner though.

3. Expect Fees To Be Deducted

Finally, you should not get your hopes up that the court will reimburse you for the entire bail amount. While it is possible that this could happen, it is not very likely. In most cases, courts will refund the bail money; however, there will be deductions taken from it. Some of these can include:

• Court fees
• Attorney fees
• Jail fees
• Miscellaneous fees

Several weeks after the court closes the case is the time when you should look for the check in the mail. While it might not be the entire amount, hopefully it will be a good portion of it.

When you get the phone call from that close friend or family member asking you to bail him or her out, you may want to think about all of this before you agree to do it. If you cannot afford to do this, your friend could get a bail bond through a bondsman. This is another way for a person to get out of jail, and the person will then be indebted to the bondsman until he or she repays the entire debt.

To learn more, contact a company like Bob Shropshire & Sons with any questions or concerns you have.

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