Understanding Financial Considerations

Posted on: 21 August 2018

If your spouse has been having an issue with drug addiction and was arrested last night on charges of drug possession, then you need to take the following actions to bail them out of jail.

Step 1: Make Sure You Understand the Risks of Posting Bail

Before you contact a bail bonding agent, it is imperative you understand what the process of bail entails and what its inherent risks are. 

For example, assume for a moment your spouse's bail amount is $5000. If you choose to post bail, then you will be required to pay about 10% ($500) of the bail amount to the bail bond company as their fee for posting the bond. If you choose to pay the $500, it is not refundable. Additionally, you will be required to secure the rest of the bail amount with an asset such as your car. And, if your spouse misses a single court date, then you will lose your car to the bonding company because they will lose their full bond amount to the courts.

If you are not in a position to potentially lose your vehicle and you fear your spouse may be on drugs and won't make it to court, then perhaps posting bond isn't the best option.

While you may be tempted to bypass the bail bond agent and post the entire amount of the bond yourself, it is important to understand you will lose it if your spouse misses a single court date. This is one advantage to working with a bonding agent because they will ensure your spouse gets to court so they don't have to pay the whole bond amount to the court.

Step 2: Gather All the Information the Bail Bond Agent Needs

If you have decided to take the risk and use a bail bond agent to bail your spouse out of jail, you first need to collect all of the following information they will need to do so:

• your spouse's full legal name
• which jail your spouse is being held in
• your spouse's booking number
• the exact charges levied against your spouse

Once you have all of this information, you can then find a bail bond company in your local area to work with. Additionally, if you are located in a rural area where there aren't any local bonding agents, then you can arrange for bail and pay the bond fee online.