Spending time in jail typically involves the court posting a bail amount that, if paid, would allow you to await your trial at home rather than spending that wait time in jail. There are two main ways you can pay bail: cash bonds or surety bail bonds. The first involves paying bail in full in cash, while the latter involves relying on a bail bond agency, like us at Alpha Bonding, to cover the bail, and you owe only a small percentage to us instead of the full amount to the court. Here are a few considerations to help you decide which option might work best for you.
- Can you afford to pay the full cost of bail? Bail can cost anywhere between hundreds and thousands of dollars. When considering whether cash bonds or surety jail bonds will work best for you, you will want to decide whether or not you can afford to pay the bail in full. If you can afford the full cost, you can pay it all in cash to get out of jail before your trial. If not, you might consider instead hiring a bail bond agency. We can cover the cost of bail for you, and you will only owe us a percentage of the full bail and any necessary collateral.
- Are you willing to commit to paying? Whether you decide on cash bonds or surety bail bonds, you need to commit to paying the amount due to minimize the time you spend in jail. If you choose surety bail bonds, we can discuss payment arrangements that work best for you. We can also consider a payment plan, depending on the cost of the bail.
- Are you able to commit to appearing in court? When you choose to hire a bail bond agency, you agree to appear in court for all of your court dates. We also make a commitment to the court that we will ensure that you show up to court. It should be noted that we require collateral in addition to the portion of bail you pay to cover the cost in the case of your not showing up to court.
Our goal is to provide clarity and reduce stress during an already stressful time. If you’d like to learn more about surety bail bonds, contact us today.