Why You Should Hire A Bail Bondsman Instead Of Paying Your Loved One's Bail

When a person is arrested, a bail amount is often set by a magistrate or judge. If the arrested individual's family member or another close loved one pays this amount to the court, then the individual can be released until their court date. This amount isn't given to the court permanently; as long as the defendant shows up for their court date, the money is returned to the person who posted bond.

This might seem like a fairly simple and straightforward process, so you might not really find it necessary to hire a bail bondsman to help. However, in some cases, it's better to hire a bail bondsman. If you aren't sure of why this can be a better option than just posting the bail amount yourself, consider these reasons.

You Might Not Be Able to Pay the Bail

If you aren't sure of how much your loved one's bail is just yet, you may want to call the magistrate's office or the jail to get this information. Even for seemingly minor offenses, bail amounts can often be quite high. In many cases, people find that they simply don't have access to the amount of money that would be needed to post bond for a loved one. If there weren't any other options out there, these individuals would have to remain in jail until their cases were heard in front of the court. 

You Might Be in a Financial Bind if You Pay the Bail

Even if you are technically able to come up with the necessary amount of money to bond your loved one out of jail on your own, you shouldn't necessarily do so. Doing so could prevent you from paying a bill or could put you in a bad financial situation if an emergency pops up. If you work with a bail bond company, then you won't have to worry about taking this money out of your bank account and leaving yourself with less of a cash flow.

You Won't Have Anyone to Help You With the Process

Posting bail for someone for the first time can be a very intimidating process. You might have to visit the jail where your loved one is being held, for example, which might not be something you have ever done before. You will have to fill out paperwork, too. If you hire a bail bondsman instead, you won't have to go through this process alone, and you will have someone who you can talk to and get answers from.