When you have close friends, you want to do everything you can for them. However, if your friend has been arrested, and needs you to post bail for them, you need to take a few minutes to assess the situation. Posting bail for someone is a big commitment. You shouldn't enter into it without some careful consideration. Before you post bail for your friend, here are three important questions you should ask yourself.

Do You Understand the Process?

When it comes to posting bail for someone, the first thing you need to do is ensure that you understand the process. Posting bail is more than just handing money to the bondsman and arranging release. When you post bail, you're ensuring that the person will show up for their court hearings and that they won't do anything to get in trouble with the law while they're out on bail. You're also acknowledging that you won't get any of your money back until the court case has been fully resolved. Before you post bail for your friend, make sure you understand what you're signing up for.

Do You Have the Money Readily Available?

When you go in to bail your friend out, you'll be required to provide cash to the bail bondsman. If you can't afford all of it, you'll be allowed to provide a portion of the bail in cash and the remainder of it in the form of collateral. The collateral can be either real or personal property. Before you post bail for your friend, you need to make sure that you actually have the money readily available, meaning that you don't need to borrow it from someone else, or postpone the payments of your own bills.

Do You Know They Won't Skip Bail?

If you're going to post bail for your friend, be sure you know that they won't skip bail. If your friend does skip bail, you'll forfeit any money that you paid to get them out of jail on bail. In some cases, that may be a significant amount of money. Not only that, but you'll also forfeit any collateral that you provided for the bail. Before you agree to post bail, make sure you know your friend well enough to know that they'll honor the terms of their bail.

If you've been asked to post bail for a friend, make sure you're ready for the responsibility. If you have additional questions about the bail bond process, be sure to speak to a bail bondsman near you, like Alda Pauline's Bail Bonds.