States around the country have different regulations for posting bail, and the types of bail that are used. Arizona is a state in which judges determine release conditions that may require a cash only bond, unsecured appearance bond, or a secured appearance bond. If the individual is able to post the bail bond, the person will be released and be required to appear at all future scheduled court appearances until the conclusion of the case. “Collateral” is typically used when a judge orders a secured appearance bond to be posted. The Collateral is used to secure the amount of the bail bond, and guarantees the arrestee shows up to the future court dates. A family member or friend of the arrestee can contact a bail bond company, pay a percentage of the bond to essentially purchase it, and use their assets to secure the bond. Bail bond companies determine the forms of collateral they will accept. Collateral can include paid off vehicles, equity within a home, equity within a parcel of land, monies from a credit card, and many others. The bail bond company must pay the bond amount in monies to the appropriate court or provide a promissory note in which the bonding company promises to pay the bail bond in full if the arrestee decides to “skip out”. This process can be considered a tradeoff. The bonding company takes on the liability of the bond amount, while the customer uses their assets to back up the amount. The percentage you pay to the bail bond company is non-refundable. If a person that was bailed out through a bail bond company does not show up to the court appearances, the bail bond company can loose or have to pay a lot of money to the court. The customer contracts with the bail bond company promising to pay the bond amount in full if this was to occur, or forfeit their collateral used to secure the amount.
