HOW BAIL BONDS WORK

When a person gets arrested in Lee County, they are taken to the Lee County Jail. The person in jail is called the defendant. The Lee County Sheriff will set a "bond" for the defendant. The amount of the bond varies depending on the severity of the crime the defendant is charged with. If you want to "bond the defendant out of jail", you can call a licensed bail bonds company in Lee County. The person that calls the bondsman, to get the defendant out of jail, is called the Indemnitor. The indemnitor is charged a fee of 10% of the bond amount. There is a minimum fee of $100 for any single bond in the state of Florida (as required by Florida state law). In addition to the 10% fee, the indemnitor will sign a contract with the bondsman that states the indemnitor is liable for the full amount of the bond in the event that the defendent flees and can not be located. Assuming the defendant fulfills his obligation, by appearing at all his assigned court dates, the indemnitor is released from all liability. The bondsman may, at his discretion, require the indemnitor to provide collateral for the bond. Collateral is something of material value (like cash or personal property) that the bondsman holds in trust to insure that the defendant fulfills his obligation to appear at all assigned court dates. After the defendant appears at his court dates, the collateral is returned to the indemnitor.
The bail bond itself, is a written contract between the bailbondsman and the court. This contract states that the bailbondsman is responsible for the defendant's appearance at all his assigned court dates. If the defendant flees and fails to appear before the court, the bondsman has 60 days to locate and apprehend him. If the bondsman fails to do so, he must pay the court the full amount of the bond. The bail bond industry is regulated under the insurance statutes by the State of Florida, and under the rules of the Department of Financial Services.