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We understand you may have questions about the bail process
Read through some of the we questions we commonly receive!
How does the bail bonds Process Work?
There are essentially two different types of Bail Bonds, and those are Cash Bonds and Surety Bonds.
Cash Bonds refer to posting the Full Amount of the bond in Cash. For example, if a Defendant has a $5000 Bond, and you post $5000 Cash, once the Defendant makes it to all their Court Dates, the Court will return your deposited $5000 Cash Bond back to you.
Surety Bonds refer to the use of a professional/commercial bondsman. Surety is more or less the legal term used for Bail Bondsman. If you decide to go the surety route you will only pay a percentage of the bond amount to the bail bondsman and the defendant will be released. For example, if a Defendant has a $5000 Bond, and you use a bail bondsman, they will charge you anywhere from 10-15%, plus that of any fees, and have you sign to guarantee the Defendants appearance in Court.
What should I know or do before contacting a bail bondsman?
Generally, you should have the following information available before contacting a bail bondsman. However, it is not always necessary, and most bail bonds companies can obtain this info if you are unable to readily provide it. In any instance having the following information ready for the bail agent could help speed the bonding process up:
- Have the Defendants full and legal name.
- Have the Defendants DOB.
- Have the Defendants charges and the Court for which they have been filed.
- Know the Jail or Detention center in which they are being detained.
- Lastly, know the full amount of the bond required for the release of the Defendant, and the type of bond which has been set, either cash or surety.
When the case is over what happens? Do I get my money back?
In the instance you were to post the full cash amount, yes, you would get the money you posted back once the Defendant makes it to all of their Court hearings, complies with all conditions of bond, and the case has reached a final disposition.
In the instance you were to post a surety bond, (or otherwise use the services of a bondsman) no, you may not receive in money back. The fees and premiums charged at the time of the bond are how the bondsman makes money and are applied towards your purchase of the Surety Bond.
What are the advantages to using a Surety (or professional bail bondsman) over posting the full cash amount?
It is important to know that while it may appear that posting the full cash amount over using a bail bondsman may save you lots of money, that there are many advantages toward using that of a professional bail bondsman.
- Many times Court cases can run for a very long time, most of the time months, to even over a year a time the case could go on before it reaches final disposition. This means that the cash you post could potentially be tied up for a very long time.
- When you post a bond using the full cash amount, you may lose many of the very services and amenities that come with the purchase of a surety bond through a professional bail bondsman. For instance, even if the defendant were to accidentally miss Court, you could potentially lose the full Cash bond on a forfeiture with no real way of getting that back, and could potentially have to hire an attorney just to do so. This is what bondsman do for a living, many of them already have attorneys who handle this sort of thing all time, or at a minimum know how to handle such a situation to avoid forfeiture. Lastly, if you post a cash bond and ever decide that you no longer want on the bond for fear of losing your money, you have no real advantage to getting off the bond until the case is over. When using a bail bondsman they could revoke their bond, place the Defendant back in jail allowing you to be released from liability.
Bail agent discount the fees on the premium?
No, all bail bondsman are required to charge the premium percentage that their Surety Insurance company has filed with the State. However, a Bail Agent may be inclined to waive any extra cost or fees they may charge as a result of the bond.
What if the person on Bail does not appear?
Typically, most people go to Court and usually when they don't, it's because of a miscommunication or accidental fault. In the instance someone does miss Court, Wyoming Law, requires the Court to enter a forfeiture of the bond, whether it be cash or surety. If it was an accident, there are many avenues toward remedy of forfeiture that can be taken, and your bondsman should be able to inform you the best route to take in this instance. However, if the Defendant intentionally fails to appear then your bondsman will seek remedy of forfeiture by either collecting the money by contract or locating and apprehending the Defendant and surrendering them back to the Sheriff.
Why should I use Wyoming Bail Agency?
If you have researched to find the best possible Bail Company to use, you may have found that many claim to be #1 and the best in all the business around, and not to say this is may not be true (we cannot speak for other companies), but WBA does not stand to make any such claims. Instead we let our business, experience, knowledge and professionalism speak for itself. While there are many knowledgeable and professional bail bondsman around, WBA is determined to set themselves apart from other companies by providing you with most professional and knowledgeable experience you may find in the area. If at anytime you are unhappy or feel that WBA has not provided you with the expected service you deserve, we ourselves will set out to find and refer you to a company who you may find comfort in, that is the Wyoming Bail Agency Guarantee.
For more a more detailed an animated explanation of How Bail Bonds work, please feel free to watch this short video that may help fill in any gaps or missing information.
