If I Bail Someone Out Of Jail Am I Responsible For Them?

 One of the most common questions people ask themselves is "If I bail someone out of jail, am I responsible for them? The answer to this is Yes!! Most of the time the person who bails them out is responsible for them. There are responsibilities that come with bailing someone out, like helping them attend their court dates or helping them follow the rules. But what does this responsibility actually mean and does the level of responsibility differ depending on the bail path you choose. We will explain these details so you know what to expect and how to manage your obligations.

Your Choices 

First off, you have two choices, you can either co-sign with a bail bond agent or you can pay the full bail by yourself. If you decide to co-sign you will be called the indemnitor and you will be responsible for 10% of the cost. Or you can pay the full bail by yourself which will be returned after all the court dates. However, both options will require you to be fully responsible for the whole cost if the defendant doesn't show up to the court dates. We will dive deeper into each option in the following paragraphs.  

1. Indemnitor path

What is an indemnitor?

An indemnitor is someone who agrees to take responsibility for another person's debt or obligations if that person cannot fulfill them. If the original person fails to pay or meet their commitments, the indemnitor steps in to cover those responsibilities.

What Does An Indemnitor Do? 

As mentioned above you can be an indemnitor by co-signing with a bail bond agent and using a bail bond. For those who cannot afford to pay the full bail a bail bond is an easy way out. You will sign a document that says you are going to pay 10% of the bail. This 10% will not be returned, it is the fee for using the bail bonds agent. To put this in perspective, if you have 10,000 dollar bail you are going to pay 10% of that which means only 1,000. The other 90% of the bail which will be paid by the bail bond agent will be returned to them if the defendant goes to every court date. Again, if you can't afford to post bail for someone, use a bail bond. You will only need to pay 10% which is much cheaper than posting full bail by yourself and if needed you can always make the defendant pay you back the 10% you paid sometime in the future. 

Bail Bond Co-Signer Requirements:

You will be responsible for making sure the defendant doesn't break any laws or rules. There are a lot of rules for someone out on bail, some being, no contact with victims or witnesses and no possession of weapons. You will also want to know all the laws in your area. You wouldn't believe how weird and surprising some of the laws are. In Utah for example it's against the law to ride a bike with no hands. Accidental or not, try not to break the law it will lead to your bail being revoked. 

You are also responsible for guaranteeing that the defendant shows up. If the defendant doesn't show up they will be placed under arrest and the bail will be revoked. You will have to pay the bail bond agent the other 90% of the bail since the court will not.

If you do want to be an indemnitor and use a bail bond you will need to fulfill some of the other bail bond co-signer requirements:

• Financial stability: They will check your financial stability by looking through credit scores, paychecks, and payment history. 
• Verifiable identity: It is also required that you can verify your identity through driver's licenses and/or passports. 
• Easy Access: You will need to provide your phone number and address so they can reach you at all times. 
• Trustworthy: Someone who has the above requirements fulfilled is already trustworthy but they will also check by talking to your family and business partners. You will need to have little to no criminal records. 
• A good relationship with the defendant: How do you know the defendant? Court officials and bail bond agents will trust you more if you are a relative or long-time friend of the defendant. If you have no association with them that may seem suspicious, why would you bail out someone you don't know?

2. Paying Full Bail Yourself 

If you don't like the idea of being an indemnitor, you can pay the full bail yourself. Which will be returned to you after every court date, that is if your defendant goes to the court dates. If they miss a court date you will be responsible for the full bail. So, if you have the money and the confidence in the defendant this is a good route because you will be getting all your money back, and you won't lose 10% of it. But, if you are worried about the money not being returned, put together some kind of collateral the defendant can give you like a car or other property. The collateral will be returned to the defendant after you get your bail money back. This will decrease the chances of the defendant's bail jumping. 

What You Should Consider Before Bailing Someone Out?

• Do you trust the person you are bailing out? 
• Are you willing to pay for all the costs if the defendant skips out?
• Will they take responsibility and go to every court date? 
• Are they drinking or using?
• Do they have financial stability, can they pay you back any money you might lose?
• What do their criminal records look like?
• Do you know them well enough to take on this big of a responsibility?

In Conclusion

Again, the answer to the question “If I bail someone out of jail am I responsible for them?” is, yes. You will be responsible for making sure they go to court, and if they don't you will be responsible for the full bail amount.  But the good thing is once it's over, you won't be responsible for them anymore and you will have all your money back. So, if you know them and trust them maybe the short-term responsibility will be worth it.