Questions Frequently Asked About Bail Bonds In Orange County

By Author: Swagntmelly
Total Articles: 7
Comment this article

Typically, and with good reason, families in a Orange County are no very familiar with how bail bonds work. When someone receives that dreadful call about a loved one or friend being in the Orange County Jail, several questions, along with the feeling of confusion, take hold. Listed below are some of the frequently asked questions ("FAQs") and answers for Orange County bail bonds.

Question 1: What is Bail?
Answer: Bail is a deposit of money guaranteeing the appearance of a defendant in court as required. Bail in Orange County is set by a panel of judges on an annual basis. The amount of bail takes into consideration the crime, the defendant's past record and the defendant's present stance within the community. Bail is paid to the court system in order for the defendant to be released from jail with the promise to appear as required in the case.

Question 2: What is a Bond?
Answer: When a defendant cannot afford to pay the bail entirely (and since the average amount of Orange County bail bonds is $25,000), they can call on the help of a bondsman. The bondsman will provide the court a paper "insurance ...
... policy" guaranteeing that the defendant will show up for future court dates. In order to use the bondsman's service, the defendant, family member or friend will pay a 10% of the full bail amount as a non-refundable fee. When using a bail bondsman, the bail agreement (a contract) signifies not only the defendants promise to return to court as scheduled, but also the contract signer and the bondsman's agreement to make sure that happens.

Question 3: What is a Bail Recovery Agent?
Answer: A bail recovery agent is more commonly known as a "bounty hunter". Bounty hunters are commonly confused with a bail bondsman. However, they are quite different. In some rare instances, defendants, even though they agreed they'd show up to court, do not appear as promised. When this happens, the Orange County courts give the bondsman six months to locate the defendant. If the defendant cannot be located, it is referred to as skipping bail. A bail recovery agent may be contracted to locate and return the defendant to court or jail.

Question 4: Who is allowed to post the bail for a defendant?
Answer: In some areas there are restrictions on who can post bail, but for Orange County bail bonds, anyone can get the defendant out of jail. However, doing this is a big responsibility as the obligations outlined in the bail bonds contract that applies to the defendant also applies to the person who bails them out. If you're paying, you will have to pay the 10% fee of the original bail amount. This is your fee to use the bail bonds service instead of paying the entire bail amount. Your next obligation is making sure the defendant makes it to court. If the defendant "fails to appear", you'll be held responsible for helping the bondsman find the defendant.

For more information about Orange County bail bonds please visit www.familybailbonds.com