3 Options For Helping A Loved One Who's In Jail With A High Bond

15 June 2016
 Categories: Law, Blog

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If you have recently been informed that someone close to you has been arrested and is in jail, your first instinct might have been to get him or her out as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, this is not always easy. If your loved one's bond is too high for you to pay, you might think you're out of options. However, these are three potential things that you can do to help in this situation.

1. Work with a Lawyer for a Possible Bond Reduction

First of all, you should know that your loved one's bond is not necessarily set in stone. If you work with an attorney, the attorney may be able to appeal to the court to have the bond reduced. This is often a possibility of the defendant does not have a serious criminal record and is not charged with a serious crime and if your loved one has strong community ties and is not considered at risk of skipping out on bail. Consider talking to a defense attorney about this option and about representation for your loved one's court case.

2. Use the Services of a Bail Bondsman

If you hire a bail bondsman, like one from STAT Bail Bonds LLC, you will not be responsible for paying out the full amount of the bond. Instead, you'll pay a percentage of the bond to the bondsman, and he or she will take care of the rest. Unlike if you paid the entire bond upfront yourself, you will not get this money back, even if your loved one goes to court. Instead, the money will be kept by the bondsman for providing the service.

3. Provide Support While Your Loved One's in Jail

If these methods fail and you are still unable to get your loved one out of jail, all you can do is attempt to provide as much support as possible while he or she is incarcerated. Hiring an attorney to help with his or her case, visiting the jail when you can, writing letters or accepting phone calls from your loved one and sending money for hygiene items, snacks and other essentials can all be helpful. Every jail is different, so you'll need to contact the facility in which your loved one is incarcerated to determine how to best provide support.

Knowing that someone you care about is in jail and feeling that there is nothing that you can do about it can be highly upsetting. However, if you follow these three tips, you may be able to do something to help your friend or family member out.