What is a Bail Bond?
The word bail as a legal term means:

• Security, usually a sum of money, exchanged for the release of an arrested person as a guarantee of that person's appearance for trial.
• As a verb: to secure the release of an arrested person by providing bail.
• Release from imprisonment on payment of such money.
• As a verb: to release a person under such guarantee.
• The person providing such payment.

Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court in order to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail ("skipping bail", or "jumping bail", is also illegal). In most cases bail money will be returned at the end of the trial, if all court appearances are made, no matter whether the person is found guilty or not guilty of the crime accused. In some countries, including the US, granting bail is common. Even in such countries, however, bail may not be offered by some courts under some circumstances; for instance, if the accused is considered likely not to appear for trial regardless of bail. Countries without bail imprison the suspect before the trial only if deemed necessary.

Legislatures may also set out certain crimes to be unbailable, such as capital crimes. Under the current law of England and Wales, bail simply refers to the release of the accused before trial. Forms of bail

The form of bail varies from jurisdiction, but the common forms of bail include:

• Recognizance — a promise made by the accused to the court that he/she will attend all required judicial proceedings and will not engage in further illegal activity or other prohibited conduct as set by the court. Typically a monetary amount is set by the court, but is not paid by the defendant unless the court forfeits it; this is denominated an unsecured appearance bond.
• Surety — when a third party agrees to be responsible for the debt or obligation of the defendant. In many jurisdictions this service is provided commercially by a bail bondsman, where the agent will receive 10% of the bail amount up front and will keep that amount whether the defendant appears in court or not. The court in many jurisdictions, especially jurisdictions that prohibit bail bondsmen, may demand a certain amount of the total bail (typically 10%) be given to the court, which, unlike with bail bondsmen, is returned if the defendant does not violate the conditions of bail.
• Release on Conditions - many varied non-monetary conditions and restrictions on liberty can be imposed by a court to ensure that a person released into the community will appear in court and not commit any more crimes. Common examples include: mandatory calls to the police, surrendering passports, home detention, electronic monitoring, drug testing, alcohol counseling, and surrendering firearms.
• Orders of Protection - one very common feature of any conditional release, whether on bail, bond or condition, is a court order requiring the defendant to refrain from criminal activity against the alleged crime victim, or stay away from and have no contact with the alleged crime victim. The former is a limited order, the latter a full order. Violation of the order can subject the defendant to automatic forfeiture of bail and further fine or imprisonment.
• Cash — typically "cash only", where the defendant must provide the amount of the bail to the court.
• Combinations - courts often allow defendants to post cash bail or bond, and then impose further conditions, as mentioned above, in order to protect the community or ensure attendance. Bail may be forfeited, and the defendant remanded to jail, for failure to appear when required.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bail

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How much will Bail cost me?

Bail is paid to the bondsman in the form of a premium. [Please see "What is Premium?"] State law regulates 10% of the bail amount as premium, though depending on charges, credit and financing premium costs can be low as 8 % or as high as 15%. Federal and Immigration cases may be as high as 15%.

One should be very careful when Agents offer 3-5% bail as there usually is a catch. Remember the fees are regulated by California Law as a standard 10% of the bail, with variance as listed in the previous paragraph. Judges rely on these fees for bail to be paid for release when setting the original Bail amount, if fee is found not to have been paid according to state law requirements, Judges can alter opinions or issue comments.

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What is a Premium?

The premium is a non-refundable amount given to the bail agent for his services for processing and arranging the release of the accused. The premium is good for only one year after that bail is posted. This means in the rare occasion that the case has yet to be settled in court, one way or another after one year has passed, an additional premium of the same amount is due.

The premium is not refundable no matter if the accused is found innocent of all charges and case is dismissed or the other extreme. Paying a premium to a bail agents can save you money and allow you to track your money instead of paying a cash bond to the court for the entire bail amount, where additional hidden fees to the court the county and state are usually included.

Premium is generally in a vast majority of cases 10% of the bail amount. An example being of there is a bail of $10,000 then the premium owned to the bail agency would be a non-refundable $1,000 for their services. This amount can be as low as 8% depending on the amount of bail and the amount of collateral procured on that particular case, at the bail agent’s discretion.

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What is Collateral?

Collateral is what is obtained by the bail agent in addition to the premium amount prior to posting of bail. This is usually secured though any item which resale value is equal to or in excess of the bail amount. The most widely excepted and most commonly used is the equity of real property.

Signing a Deed of Trust to the Surety Company stating that you will have a lien on your property until the case is settled does this. This is an insurance policy for the Surety Company so that if for some odd reason the accused ‘skips’ and does not appear for court and can not be found by anyone, that the collateral becomes property of the Surety Company to pay off the entire bail amount.

Though typically if the accused once bailed appears to all court dates for the particular charge he is bailed on, and a decision is made by the court one way or another closing his case, then the collateral is returned to whom ever put their property up free and clear.

Collateral can also be found in other forms such as second homes/investment property, stocks/bonds, cars, boats, jewelry etc. Though is should be noted if anything other then a home is put up for collateral the bond agent in most cases will have to seize that property in order to make sure the item is maintains its value during the course of the case. This is typical but there are exceptions to every rule. Example being if a car is put up for collateral the bond agent would have to seize the care and store it to make sure that between the time the release of jail and conclusion of the case that the vehicle isn’t involved in an accident have an engine malfunction and so on which may effect the value of the vehicle to less then that of the bail amount. Again upon conclusion of the case whatever the outcome the collateral is returned free and clear.

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Do I need Collateral?

Every case is different. Sometimes a co-signor is sufficient. Many bails are of such a high amount it only makes sense that collateral is needed.

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What is a Bail Bondsman?

A bail bondsman is any person or corporation, which will act as a surety and pledge money or property as bail for the appearance of a criminal defendant in court. Although banks, insurance companies and other similar institutions are usually the sureties on other types of contracts, for example, to bond a contractor who is under a contractual obligation to pay for the completion of a construction project, such entities are reluctant to put their depositors' or policyholders' funds at the kind of risk involved in posting a bail bond. Bail bondsmen, on the other hand, are usually in the business to cater exclusively to criminal defendants, often securing their customers' release in just a few hours.

Bail bondsmen are almost exclusively found in the United States, as in most other countries bail is usually more modest, and the practice of bounty hunting is illegal.

Bondsmen usually have a standing security agreement with local court officials, in which they agree to post an irrevocable "blanket" bond, which will pay the court if any defendant for whom the bondsman is responsible does not appear. The bondsman usually has an arrangement with a bank or another credit provider to draw on such security, even during hours when the bank is not operating. This eliminates the need for the bondsman to deposit cash or property with the court every time a new defendant is bailed out.

Bondsmen generally charge a fee of 10% of the total amount of the bail required in order to post a bond for the amount. This fee is not refundable and represents the bondsman's compensation for his or her services. As the practice of paying a 10% cash premium for a bond became widespread, some courts have recently instituted a practice of accepting 10% of the bond amount in cash, for example, by requiring a $10,000 bond or $1,000 in cash. In jurisdictions where the 10% cash alternative is available, the deposit is usually returned if the case is concluded without violation of the conditions of bail. This has the effect of giving the defendant or persons giving security for the defendant a substantial incentive to make the cash deposit rather than using a bail bondsman.

For large bail amounts, bondsmen can generally obtain security against the assets of the defendant or persons willing to assist the defendant. For example, for a $100,000 bond for a person who owns a home, the bondsman would charge $10,000 and take a mortgage against the house for the full penal sum of the bond.

If the defendant fails to appear in court, the bondsman is allowed by law and/or contractual arrangement to bring the defendant to the jurisdiction of the court in order to recover the money paid out under the bond, usually through the use of a bounty hunter. The bondsman is also allowed to sue the defendant for any money forfeited to the court should the defendant fail to appear.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bail_Bonds

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What is a Surety?

A surety is a person who agrees to be responsible for the debt or obligation of another. The situation in which a surety is most typically required is when the ability of the primary obligor or principal to perform its obligations under a contract is in question, or when there is some public or private interest which requires protection from the consequences of the principal's default or delinquency. In most common law jurisdictions, a contract of suretyship is subject to the statute of frauds (or its equivalent local laws) and is only enforceable if memorialized by a writing signed by the surety.

If the surety is required to pay or perform due to the principal's failure to do so, the law will usually give the surety a right of subrogation, allowing him to recover the cost to him of making payment or performance on the principal's behalf, even in the absence of an express agreement to that effect between the surety and the principal.

The act of becoming a surety is also called a guaranty. Traditionally a guaranty was distinguished from a surety in that the surety's liability was joint and primary with the principal, whereas the guaranty's liability was ancillary and derivative, but many jurisdictions have abolished this distinction.

In the United States, Under Article 3 of the Uniform Commercial Code, a person who signs a negotiable instrument as a surety is termed an accommodation party; such a party may be able to assert defenses to the enforcement of an instrument not available to the maker of the instrument.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surety

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What are my Payment Options?

When posting bail, payment arrangements can vary depending on the type of bond and the amount. To cover the premium for the bail itself our agency accepts cash and credit cards, checks usually are not excepted unless they are deposited and cleared prior to the post of the bail.

Financing premium payment may also be an option though that is up to the bond agent depending on the individual case. Payment arrangements are the sole discretion of the bond agent. Payment plans may include a down payment with monthly installment payments as that of a credit card. Payment arrangements again are specific to each bail bond and bail agent.

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