Just as with anything else, there are pros and cons to being a co-signer to someone’s bail bond, not matter how tight of a relationship you have with them. Essentially a co-signer does is sign off on a bail bond to ensure the legibility of it, taking responsibility for the defendant. Let’s weight the pros and cons to being a co-signer:

Pros:
• Because you are financially responsible for the defendant, you will very likely want to keep a close watch on them. You can keep a better eye on them to ensure they stay out of trouble. This is critically important to those who love the defendant most.
• You are responsible for ensuring the defendant goes to court. So similarly, you will be doing everything in your power to see the defendant gets the best outcome of his or her trial by making sure the process runs as smooth as possible.
• While co-signing the bond is legally binding, you can request to withdraw this, especially if you cannot trust the defendant.
• You can require release conditions of the defendant, such as drug testing, to get an analysis of their condition and coherency.

Cons:
• Co-signing a bail bond is a legally binding. You are now financially responsible for paying the bail agent’s premium fee. You are now also responsible for paying consequential fees and the full bail amount if the defendant does not show up in court.
• Any collateral you put up for the bail bond can be taken from you if the defendant fails to appear in court.
• You will endure more emotional stress – but hopefully nothing you can’t handle.

The biggest thing you want to ask yourself before co-signing a bail bond is if you can trust the defendant to go to court, to be compliant with all terms and conditions, to ensure you do not lose your money or collateral because of his or her irresponsible actions.

Talk to Santa Ana Bail Bond Store Services more about co-signing a bail bond. We can help you figure out the best situation for you and for the arrested person who is seeking your help and ours.

Consultations are always FREE, so call Santa Ana Bail Bond Store Services now at 714-973-2245.

If you have no problem being persistent, direct, and honest with a loved one when absolutely necessary, then perhaps being a loved one’s cosigner is for you.

What we mean is that if someone you know gets arrested, and they contact OC Bail Now for a bail agent, the bail agent may need to have someone cosign the bail bond. The cosigner is responsible for a few things:

• Making sure the defendant appears in court when ordered.
• Making sure the defendant notifies their bail agent of the next court appearance.

If the defendant fails to do this, the cosigner would be responsible for paying the full bail amount.

As a cosigner, you will need to pledge collateral like money or property, which gets returned to you as long as you make sure the defendant goes to court.

It may not seem fair to put a cosigner in this position with so much responsibility and so much of their money and property on the line. This is why cosigners also have rights of their own to protect. If the cosigner believes the defendant will not appear in court, the cosigner can contact the bail agent and ask the bond to be withdrawn. The cosigner may also request stipulations before signing, such as asking the defendant to undergo drug testing or a mental health evaluation.

Contact OC Bail Now at 714-973-2245 for a FREE consultation.

Our job is to bail people out of jail so defendants can protect their rights but it is also very important to us that we help cosigners protect their rights and make sure they know all the steps involved in the process. We are on both sides here because like both sides, we want to make sure the defendant gets out of jail quickly and properly.