Dallas County Bail Bonds

Best Bail Bonds in Dallas, TX

Bail Bonds Dallas, TX

Bail Bonds in Dallas are what we do best! Getting arrested is not something that most people plan for. There are several infractions that can result in someone being arrested. Depending on the nature of the crime, law enforcement officials have no choice but to perform an arrest. No matter who it is that gets arrested, their friends and loved ones will most likely be concerned about their wellbeing. And will have questions like: “How do we get them out of jail quickly and legally?” In a situation like this your best bet is to use the services of a Dallas Bail Bonds Company.

If you find that you or a loved one have been arrested, having your Southern Bail Bonds Company on your side could help provide the stress relief you need. The experience can be very frightening and confusing, not only for you but for your family and friends too. You may have heard about posting bail or getting bail bonds, but you may not know the first steps to take or know if you’re even eligible for a bail bond. Let’s go over some of the basics so you can get a general idea of the process. Hopefully, this will help answer some of your first questions.

Exactly What Are Bail Bonds?

A bail bond is a type of surety bond, which is posted either by a bail bonds company or paid in cash by a family member to the court or county where the criminal charge is from, as a guarantee for the arrestee’s appearance at all court dates. The court or county will release the arrested person from detention once the bail bond has been posted. Surety bail bonds are underwritten and issued by licensed bail agents which act as the appointed representatives of licensed surety insurance companies. Cash bail bonds are underwritten or guaranteed by the person paying the full bail amount to the county. If a surety bond has been posted and the defendant does not appear for court, it is the responsibility of the bail bonds agent to get the defendant back to court. In turn, most bail bonds companies require all bonds to have a cosigner. If there is a cosigner, then the cosigner has the responsibility of locating the defendant or helping the bail agent locate the defendant so they can be taken into custody. If the cosigner opts not to help then they are held responsible for paying whatever forfeiture fees may arise.

Most cosigners will gladly assist in getting the defendant back to court because they generally don’t like the idea of having helped a defendant and then that defendant walked away leaving the cosigner holding the bag.

If a cash bond was paid directly to the county, the only way the cosigner will be able to get their money back is to work with the county to get the defendant back into custody. Otherwise, they automatically forfeit whatever money they paid.

Bail Bond Terminology

Bail Bond Agent or Bail Agent

A bail agent is the person authorized to work with the defendant and the defendant’s cosigner to get the bail posted at the city or county. These bail agents work independently from the county but must hold a license in whatever county they operate in.

Collateral

When a bail agent or a county requests collateral in association with posting a bond it means they are asking for the cosigner or indemnitor to provide include property to back up the bond. The “property” can be cash, real estate, the deed to a home or vacant land that does not have a mortgage on it, recreational vehicles or automobiles – basically something that has enough value to cover the amount of the bond in case the defendant choses to forfeit their bonds by not appearing for court. The property would need to be signed over to either the bondsman or the county, depending on the situation and would be returned to the cosigner once the case is resolved. If the defendant does not show up for court and is not returned to the courts in a specific amount of time, the collateral will be used to offset the cost of the bond. Basically, if the defendant jumps bond, the full amount of the bond has to be paid to the courts.

Forfeiture

Which brings us to forfeitures. A forfeiture is when the defendant does not show up for their court date, whether intentionally or due to some other unforeseen event. Here is where things get tricky. If a defendant does not appear due to no fault of their own, and can provide proof of a qualifying incident, the courts will almost certainly recall the warrant and reinstate the original bond. For example: the defendant gets into an auto accident or has an illness that requires hospitalization, after providing proof of the incident most courts will reinstate the bond.

But on the other hand, if a defendant doesn’t show up for court because they are in the hospital due to being injured during the commission of a crime, their bond won’t be reinstated, and they will most likely be placed under arrest even while hospitalized. Basically, they won’t be able to leave the hospital once they are released from treatment, instead they will be sent to the county jail.

Yeah, that’s crazy, we know! But if you think about it, it makes sense.

Exoneration

Exoneration is defined as the act of officially absolving someone of blame. In the case of criminal charges, it means the court decided the charge was not justified and they will no longer pursue a case against the defendant for that particular charge. This determination is also called a “disposition” or a “no bill” by the Grand Jury.

Indemnitor

An indemnitor, also called a co-signer, is the person or persons who pay the bail agent or the county on behalf of the defendant. This is the person who takes responsibility for paying the full amount of the bond in the event the defendant does not appear for court as required. Indemnitors/cosigners are most often family members, friends or someone who has a close relationship with the defendant, like a co-worker or boss.

Indemnity Agreement

This is the agreement or contract between the cosigner and the bail agent or the county that says the cosigner will take full responsibility of paying whatever fees may arise out of the defendant’s failure to appear for court. Those fees will most likely include any expenses related to getting the defendant back into custody, like Fugitive Recovery fees and any transportation fees.

Principal

In short – the principal is the defendant. The principal is the person being bonded out.

Premium

The premium is the amount charged for the bail bond. Note that there could be other fees involved in processing the bond, like administrative fees. Also, in Dallas and the State of Texas, there is a state required posting fee of $15 per bond for the first two charges. If a defendant has more than two charges, no state fee is charged for any bonds past the first two. This fee gets paid to the state, not the bonding company.

Some bonding companies will roll that fee into their regular pricing. Other bonding companies may charge that fee separately from their bond fee. Here at Southern Bail Bonds Dallas, we absorb that feeing the price we quote soother are no questions about whether or not the fee we quote over the phone changing once the cosigner comes into the office. We do not have any of those irritating “pop-up” fees for processing bonds!

Surrender

A surrender is when the defendant is returned to custody by the bail agent. Keep in mind, contrary to popular belief (and Hollywood!) a bail agent can’t just decide they don’t want to be on a bond anymore and go pick up a defendant! The agent has to get a warrant from a judge in order to surrender a defendant. And the judge has to see a verifiable reason for the bond agent requesting the warrant. Valid reasons include: the defendant not checking in as required, the cosigner notifying the bail agent that the defendant has stated they plan to run instead of going to court, or proof that the defendant is willfully disobeying a court ordered condition of their bond. The only other option a bail agent has for surrendering a defendant back to the court in Texas is if the defendant has been rearrested on a new charge. While that defendant is in custody, the bail agent can file paperwork to go off the bond. This is because in Texas, a standard condition of being granted a bail bond by a judge is that the defendant not have any arrests while their current case is pending.

Should You Consider Working With A Bail Bonds Agent?

Obviously, we are going to suggest the answer to that question is “Yes”. Why tie up the full amount of the bail when you can pay a fraction of that amount by working with a bail bonds company in Dallas, TX? The money not spent on the bond can be used to acquire a defense lawyer to help with the criminal case. Not to mention, who wants to navigate the whole bail bond process by themselves. That’s where Southern Bail Bonds can help. Working with our Dallas Bail Bondsmen can be extremely beneficial, especially if you don’t have the full amount of the bond. We offer bail bonds financing with no credit check, no interest, no extra fees and fast approvals. We often say “Yes” when others say “No”! We can post Dallas bail bonds for a fraction of the cost you would have to pay if you posted a cash bond. And, your friend or loved one would be released and back to you quickly.

We can guide you through the entire Bail Bonds Dallas process, answer any questions you may have and assist you with keeping up with your court dates. We’re here and ready to help you whenever you need Dallas County Bail Bonds.

Looking for Bail Bonds in Dallas, TX?

Call us now! Our Bail Bonds Dallas Agents are ready to help – 214-372-2500. We can start the bonding process right over the phone. Got warrants for traffic tickets? We can help with those too!