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SpanishAlt-Text: A judge’s wooden gavel
When you or a loved one is being arrested for a crime, it’s not an ideal situation for anyone to be held up in prison until the court trials. Most people would prefer to have pre-trial restrictions removed from them, because this grants them an upper hand in multiple ways.
For one, you’re able to use the time you would’ve otherwise spent in prison on your family and loved ones and continue going to work. You’re also able to arrange for a lawyer and seek legal advice in that duration. Being released from prison before you are scheduled to show up in court becomes a possibility with bail.
Bail is the conditional release of a suspect with them promising to appear in court when they’re required to, which is possible usually by paying a sum of money. Once the judge sets the amount for bail, the defendant then has 3 choices. They can remain in prison until their charges are dropped, pay the bail money in full, or enlist the help of a bail bond to obtain bail money if they can’t afford it. The commercial bail bond system exists only in a rare few countries, the United States being one of them.
What are the Types of Bail Bonds?
There a 4 main types of bail bonds in Texas. We’re going to walk you through the systems each one entails.
1. Security Bond
In Texas, security bonds are the most common type of bail bonds utilized, which is also the kind of bond we offer our clients at Freedom Libertad. In security bonds, a third-party bail bonds agency helps you pay your bail by charging you only 10% of the total sum of the bail money.
2. Property Bond
If you’re not enlisting the help of a bail bondsman but own a property whether that’s a house, a commercial property or a vacation home, you can use its equity as collateral. However, if you fail to show up in court, you could end up losing your property.
3. Personal Recognizance Bond
If the nature of your crime was non-violent, at the judge’s discretion you may be released without having to deposit bail money. This is usually done after you’re assessed for risks, your background, criminal history and overall reliability as a person.
4. Attorney Bond
Depending on the county, in Texas you’re allowed to have the attorney who is working on your case to secure your bail bond on your behalf after you’ve paid them a non-refundable fee, which is usually 10% of the total bail money.
If you or a loved one cannot afford bail money, contact us at Freedom Libertad in San Angelo, Texas and we’ll help you be released from prison with our bail bonds service. We are a bail bondsman agency that specializes in bail bonds, immigration bonds, and can connect you with a notary public.