If you’ve been charged with a crime, you’ll have to remain in jail until your next court appearance unless you can raise bail. With the average bail amount in California from $20,000 - $50,000, coming up with the money to pay your bail is not an easy task, especially if you don’t have substantial savings or credit. Remaining in jail isn’t just miserable, it also means that you can’t work, which could cause you to lose your job. Your next court appearance might be months away and it could end up adjourned even farther out, so it’s it’s important to find a way to raise your bail money as quickly as possible. Bail bonds are the easiest and fastest way to get out of jail, and they’re more affordable than you think.
Raising Money From Family and Friends
The best place to start is by asking your family and friends to pool their resources to come up with your bail money. This is the most common way that people charged with crimes raise the money for bail. Just like in the movies, your heroes show up at the police station to bail you out. Unfortunately, not everybody has family and friends that are able to produce large amounts of money quickly. Waiting for loans to be processed and paychecks to come in means that you’ll be sitting in jail for quite some time, unable to work at your job or take care of your children.
See If You Qualify For A Bail Bond
If you can’t raise enough money for bail, taking out a bail bond is the next method to consider. The best California bail bond agencies are conveniently located near courthouses and can usually have you out of jail in a few hours. Most bail bonds cost about 10% of the amount of bail you need, so a bond for $20,000 will usually cost $2,000. Bail bond agencies in California will sometimes discount certain cases to 7% and some will bail you out with only 1% down if you meet certain qualifications. California bail bond agencies will go out their way to try to find a payment method for you, but if you have no cash, no credit and no property, you won’t be able to secure a bail bond.
Crowdfunding Your Bail Money
Raising money on crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter, GoFundMe, Indiegogo, Crowdfunder, Patreon and GoGetFunding has become a common way for people to raise money for medical bills, charities and start-up business ideas. Crowdfunding is free and all you have to do is upload text, a photo and the email addresses of your friends that you think might be interested in helping you. The platform keeps track of what you’ve raised and the money you receive is directly deposited into your bank account. In addition to the friends and family you’ve notified, your plea for funding will appear for strangers seeking to help people trying to raise bail. Many states are currently reforming or eliminating cash bail over concerns about fairness to the poor, the disparate impact of bail on minority groups and concerns such as mass incarceration. With patience, you might raise the entire amount of your bail money this way, but you’ll be waiting in jail the whole time.
Use Crowdfunding To Pay For Bail Bonds
Crowdfunding for bail money could get you out of jail quickly if you use what you’ve collected to buy a bond. For example, if your bail amount is $20,000 and you can get a discounted bond for 7%, you’d only have to raise 1,400 and if you have a vehicle or property you’d need to raise even less. Crowdfunding on it’s own could leave you stuck in jail for a long time, even if you’re successful in raising the funds, but crowdfunding to raise the funds for a bail bond is a practical solution that could get you back home with your loved ones quickly.
