When Posting Bail Bonds, Think Twice About Posting Cash

If someone you know has been arrested, they may contact you and asked you to post their bond. Depending on the charge, there are usually three different ways that you may do this. You may be able to post a property bond. You can also contract with a bail bonds company to post a surety bond, or exercise your third option, which is to post a cash bond. While all three options come with a variety of pros and cons, you may want to think twice about posting a cash bond. While it may seem to be cheaper than paying a bail bonds company their fee, it may cost you more than you think.

What Is A Cash Bond?

A bond is simply a financial commitment that the person that you are bonding out will meet all of the requirements that are set forth by the court. This means that they will not only show up for court dates, but meet any other conditions that the court requires until their case is completed. If they fail to meet any of these conditions, you will lose your money. When you post a cash bond, you meet this financial commitment by using cash money, and you do not use the services of a bonding company.

What Are The Dangers Of A Cash Bond?

One of the greatest dangers of posting a cash bond is the fact that you may lose some, or all, of the bond that you post. You should never post money that you cannot afford to lose, because losing your bond is always a possibility. Even if the person shows up for all of their court appearances, you still run a risk of not receiving back the full amount of money that you post. 

For example, several states, including the state of Illinois have statutes in place that allows the court to withhold certain fees from the cash bond that is posted. Some of these are:

  • Cost of court
  • Attorney fees
  • Imposed fines, and more

These amounts will vary from case to case, and may even differ based on the jurisdiction in which the case is heard. 

Another pitfall of paying a cash bond is the amount of time that your money will be tied up and be out of commission. Cases involved in the legal system can go on for extended amounts of time. If you have posted a cash bond, it will not be returned until after the case have been resolved. Even then, some courts can take weeks, if not months to return your money. 

Why Does The Court Specify That Only A Cash Bond Will Do?

Unfortunately, there are times in which the court specifically requests that a cash bond be posted. When this is the case it is often because the person has not met some type of obligation in a prior appearance. This is most commonly seen in child support cases, but may also be seen in other cases in which the defendant failed to pay court ordered fees and fines. In these cases, the court orders cash bonds to ensure that the money that is needed to meet the obligation is placed on file with the court. In these cases, it is almost guaranteed that the court will keep some, or all of the bond. 

What Can You Do?

If you are asked to post a bond that does not have to be paid in cash, hire a bail bonds agent to post a surety bond. Although you will have to pay the fee associated with them posting the bond, this fee may often be less than what the court can choose to hold out of the cash bond that you post. This will keep you from tying up large amounts of money for an extended period of time. Honestly, it is often easier to get your friend or family member to pay the fee when it is owed to someone else, not to you. For more information, visit a website like http://allstarbailbondslv.com.


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