Should You Co-Sign a Bail Bond?

What is a Bail?

Bail is one way the courts ensure that a defendant will appear before the court for their

hearing. The accused, or someone on his behalf, must pay the full amount of the bail in

order for the defendant to be released. It is returned to the payee when the accused

appears for their hearing. If the defendant defaults, and fails to appear in court. The

entire bail amount will be forfeited to the courts.

Many times, family and friends will pitch in to pay the bail for a loved one so that person

can return home while awaiting their court date. This is beneficial to the arrested person

for many reasons: to report to work, to continue to pay rent, provide for family, and

more.

What is a Bail Bond?

A bail bond is an option for those who can’t afford to pay a cash bail, but who don‘t want

to wait in jail until trial. Bail agents, or bondsman, will loan the money and pay the bail

for someone who couldn’t otherwise afford it. There are stipulations, however, and

many things to consider before going to a bail bondsman. The bond agent wants to

guarantee that he will not lose money. There are a few ways they do this:

• You pay a minimum of 10% non-refundable fee up front, and the bondsman pays

the rest

• They could require collateral for higher bails. That means you would need to sign

over a car, or your home until the bail bond is repaid in full.

• They may want a co-signer. A co-signer is someone who would be responsible

for paying back the loan should the defendant default on it, or not appear in court

for their hearing.

Co-Signer Responsibilities and How to Minimize the Risks?

Co-signing a bail bond for someone means that you are assuming responsibility for

seeing to it that the defendant shows up at all his hearings. If the defendant skips town

and does not show up on their court date, that bail is forfeited to the courts, and you will

lose that cash. Likewise, if a home, car, or other valuable was put up for collateral, that

too will be forfeited to the courts. These are important points to consider before co-

signing a bail bond.

The co-signer has the authority to request some stipulations before co-signing for the

defendant while out on bail:

• The co-signer can request the defendant attend a drug treatment program, a

mental health evaluation, or drug screenings

• If the co-signer believes the defendant may flee before court, or is committing

more crimes, they have the right to ask the bail bondsman to revoke the bail, in

which case the bondman or court will cancel the bond agreement and return the

defendant to jail.