Once a judge offers bond, a defendant must know which option would be the best in order to post bond. There are usually two ways that are most commonly used to pay for the bail bonds and those are known as surety bonds and cash bonds. Here is a quick overview of what makes them different and hopefully give you the information needed to make a decision on which one is right for you.
Courts VS Bail Bondsman
When you go with a cash bond, what that means is that you will be dealing directly with the courts. Once the bond cost has been established and lets the cost is $10,000. What it means if you went with a cash bond is that you would need to pay the courts $10,000 in order to be released and with the promise that you will show up for your court dates. A surety bond, on the other hand, means that you will be working with a third party like a bail bondsman that will act as insurance and help negotiate your release with the courts. Work with a trusted bail bondsman or bail bonds agency for professional services.
How much cash on hand makes a difference
One of the biggest differences between a cash bond and a surety bond is the vast difference in amount of money you need to have on hand. When dealing with a cash bond, you will be required to pay the entire amount upfront while with a surety bond, you will only need 10% on hand right away. There is a catch to this, however, while you need to pay everything in advance on a cash bond, if you show up to your scheduled hearing then eventually the money will be refunded. With a surety bond, that 10% is the fee it costs to work with a bail bondsman so that money will not be refundable. Of course, most people do not have such large sums of money readily available so the bail bonds industry does provide a much-needed service but it is something to think about.
Court Fees and Costs
The final difference between surety bonds and cash bonds is the fact that with cash bonds since they go through the courts, when you eventually get a refund, you will notice some money missing and that is because the courts will automatically deduct any court fees and fines from that bond amount. This is different from a surety bond however because since you do not go directly through the courts, they do not have access to take that money so those fees will be billed later down the line.
Overall, although they both have the same end result, the effect on the defendant can be very different and many things should be taken into consideration when choosing what will be best for your own personal situation.
