My brother was going to visit our sister and entered the jail with a sample-sized bottle of alcohol in his pocket. He did not intend to give it to our sister, but had simply forgotten it was there. He is now in jail and has asked me to post bail. What should I do?

In terms of what you should do, the answer to that question is entirely up to you. According to penal code 4573, bringing controlled substances into jail has an assumptive bail amount automatically assigned at $10,000. That means that your brother’s bail will most likely be set at a minimum of $10,000.

If you are going to post bail for your brother, you will probably have to partner with a bail bonding agency in order to actually get enough money for the bail bond. Most bonding agencies will charge a ten percent down payment for the total cost of the bail. The bonding agency will then pay the court the full amount of the bail. After the trial, the bail bonding agency will get a full refund, less some administrative fees, but you will be out your ten percent.

So, in your situation, unless you can pay the full amount of the bail for your brother, you will have to pay a bail bondsman $1,000, which you will not get back. Before you fork over the money, it’s always a wise idea to ask your brother if he has the money or any assets to pay the bond.

Alternatively, you can ask your brother to speak with an attorney (the courts will provide an attorney for free). The attorney may be able to speak with the judge to get your brother released on his own recognizance, which means that he will not have to pay a bail, but he will have to return to court in order to stand trial for his offense.

Keep in mind that no matter how much you love your brother, you may lose the money that you give to a bail bonding agent as a down payment if your brother cannot pay you back. It is always a wise idea to get the money directly from your brother instead (so you don’t lose money), or to simply let your brother away his trial in jail if neither of you feels comfortable shelling out that much cash.

Also, the $10,000 is only an assumptive bail. In many cases, the bail amount will vary based on how cooperative your brother is, how much of a flight risk the judge thinks he will be, and whether or not he has a past offense. Before you go out looking for a bail bonding agency, you may want to make sure of the bail amount so that you are not thrown off guard.