What are the Responsibilities of the Indemnitor When Posting Bail?

While bailing someone out of jail is a very noble thing to do it does not come without much responsibility. The person that signs the bail contract is called the indemnitor and they have a legal agreement with the bail agency and the court to ensure several things happen. If the contract is broken the indemnitor will likely be left with having to pay much larger fines, so it is important that you completely understand your role when posting bail for somebody. These are the top three responsibilities of the indemnitor after posting bail.

Get the Defendant to Count

The biggest responsibility is that the indemnitor ensures that the defendant appears at every one of their scheduled court dates. It is a common misconception that the indemnitor is only responsible for making sure the accused makes it to the first court date, while in fact it is their responsibility to get them to each and every one they may have. The bond is in effect until the case is settled or discharged, as is the responsibilities of the indemnitor.

Fee Payments

The indemnitor is responsible for paying the initial fees associated with posting bail. However they may be subject to additional fees if the defendant fails to appear in court. If this is the case there is a good chance that the bail agency that originally helped get the defendant released will now have to utilize a fugitive recovery service in order to get the defendant back in court. It is often left to the indemnitor to pay for these sorts of services.

Pay Full Bail Cost

If the defendant skips town or otherwise can not be located it will be up to the indemnitor to pay the full bail cost and release the bail agency of any obligations to the defendant. If collateral was used to post bail, such as guns, gold or a vehicle, when the bond contract was signed it will be used to pay the cost of bail and will no longer be returned.

It important that you only bail out people you can completely trust, otherwise you run a high risk of having to pay additional fees. If you are interested in learning more about posting bail in Panama City or throughout Florida get in touch with the team at Steele Boys' Bail Bonds. We offer professional bail bond services in all counties in Florida and we'd be happy to educate you about the bail process. If you're ready to get started with the Florida bail bond process give us a call day or night at (850) 403-0214.

Steele Boys' Bail Bonds Blog

Written and Published By MORBiZ