At one point, if you were going to secure bail for a relative, you used your house or car as collateral. Times have changed, and so has the collateral used to secure bail. This is good news if you are the one securing bail for a relative and you do not own or do not want to put your home or car up for collateral. Here are all of your new bail bond collateral options that you can give to a company that offers bail bond services to secure bail.
Jewelry
If it is solid gold, solid sterling silver, diamonds, and/or other semi-precious stones, you can use it. Unfortunately, most people do not have enough valuable jewelry just laying around to use for a bail bond. Even if you throw in your engagement ring and wedding ring set, it may not be enough. Jewelry is something generally used by the wealthier class, or for people who have inherited a lot of priceless jewelry. Still, you could have your jewelry assessed for value and use it in conjunction with another type of collateral.
Credit Cards
If your credit cards are not maxed out and you have quite a bit of good credit, you could use your credit cards. Additionally, if you have an unlimited card, you could use that, but whatever amount you put on such a card usually has to be paid in full the following month. If you only have enough credit to use as collateral across multiple cards, the bail bondsperson can charge amounts to each card until the bail amount is reached.
Stocks
If you have stocks, you can do one of two things. Either you cash out enough of your stocks to put money up for bail, or you can borrow money against the value of your stocks. In some cases, it might be possible to sign the stocks over to the bail bondsperson in lieu of cash. So long as the stocks are quite valuable, the assumption is that their value will remain relatively high or climb higher during the time between setting your relative free and his/her hearing, and then you can secure bail with their current value.
Bonds
Bonds are a somewhat old-fashioned method of securing bail, but they are still accepted by many bail bondspeople. Junk bonds, which usually have little value, are not accepted. Each bond used to secure bail must have its own certificate and state on the certificate what the bond is worth. The total value of all bonds used as collateral for the bail bond must equal, or be close to, the total amount of bail required. You may be able to work out a deal with the bond agent whereby several different forms of collateral are used to equal the amount of bail needed.
Intellectual Property
This would be a highly unusual deal brokered between you and the bond agent. However, intellectual property that is currently in production or manufacturing could produce hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars over the course of the next year to ten years. You would be "selling" all of your rights to your own invention, and you would never earn a dime from it.
It is, for all intents and purposes, investment property from which the bond agent is able to garner all of the money owed on the product. If you really have nothing of major value to give, and this intellectual property would have finally made your life comfortable, you may have to decide between a relative sitting in jail or making your way in the world. Consider this option for collateral very carefully.
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