Bail Bonds You Can Be Sure Of

Here at ASAP Bail Bonds, we serve Cobb, Clayton, DeKalb, and Gwinnett Counties with the best surety bonds. "Wait!" you may ask. "I thought you offered bail bonds?" Surety bonds are the same as bail bonds — just a different name. A bail bond and a surety bond ensure that you will attend all of your court appearances and face the charges against you. It is the payment you make to a bail bond agent who then pays bail on your behalf so you or your loved one can get out of jail. If you need a helping hand, our bail bond services can help. Reach out today!

THE NITTY-GRITTY OF SURETY BAIL

• Surety bonds are for those who either don't have or don't want to pay the entire cash amount of the bail set against them
• Bail bond agents act as sureties when they guarantee the court that you will show up for all of your trial court appearances
• Surety contracts is what you enter into when you take out a bail bond
• If you miss a court date, you will owe your entire bail amount to the bail bond agent and possible face a bounty hunter to boot

WHAT IS A SURETY BOND?

A surety bond is not exclusive to the bail bond agency. Many other businesses use surety bonds, such as small businesses who hire contractors. In fact, according to the Small Business Administration, a surety bond, "ensures contract completion in the event of contractor default. A project owner (called an obligee) seeks a contractor (called a principal) to fulfill a contract. The contractor obtains a surety bond from a surety company. " Translated, this means that you are taking out a loan of sorts that the bail bond company pays via a surety company who posts your entire bail amount.

WHO CAN TAKE OUT A SURETY BOND?

Anyone of legal age can take out a surety bond. In the case of bail bonds, either the person arrested or someone else can take out a surety bond on their behalf through a bail bond company, such as ASAP Bail Bonds. That being said, the person taking out the surety bond on your behalf becomes legally responsible if you decide to skip out on your court appearances. This can cause your friend to not only face undue financial hardship, but also to probably break your friendship. That being said, ultimately the bail bond company is facing the most risk because your friend or family member may not be able to pay.

WHAT ABOUT A CASH BOND?

When you pay your bail in cash, you bypass the bail bondsman completely. Anyone can post a cash bond, too. When you post a cash bond, you or your loved one is entitled to get your money back at the end of your court case. However, you still must show up to all court dates. If you don't, the person who put up bail will lose it all to the courts as payment for your disappearance and the hassle of now putting out an arrest warrant and trying to find you so you can face justice in court. While this may not seem like a lot, keep in mind that your bail amount corresponds to the crime you are accused of committing. This can be thousands of dollars if you are accused of a felony or you have a previous record of being in trouble with the law.

WHAT DOES A SURETY BOND GUARANTEE?

You could compare a surety bond to a get out of jail "free" card. It's your ticket to freedom. When you partner with a bail bond agent for a surety bond, all you pay is the minimum fee to be released from jail, usually around 10% of the bail set against you. This fee is used to purchase the insurance that the bail bond agent needs in order to meet its obligation of paying your entire bail amount for you. The insurance is called a surety bond guarantee, and this lets the court know that it will receive the entire bail amount if you skip out on bail because the insurance company is holding funds in reserve in order to pay if need be. This covers the losses the insurance company may incur as well.

WHAT IS A BLANKET BOND?

A blanket bond is what a reliable bail bond company will have with the local courts. Rather than having to deposit cash for every bail bond they issue for the court, a blanket bond saves all of the trouble and hassle on both the bail bond company's part and the court's part by providing the financial compensation should someone skip out on court. This is a win/win for both sides. The court is assured that it will be paid the owed amount if someone skips out, and the bail bond company puts up no actual cash out of its pocket.