3 Steps To Take If Your Spouse Is Arrested

Receiving a phone call from a local jail can be an alarming event-- most people don't expect their spouse to be charged with a crime, arrested, and taken to jail. But if you find yourself in that situation, it is important to react appropriately in order to minimize the consequences of your spouse's actions. Take the following steps after learning that your spouse has been arrested:

Keep the Phone Call Brief

When you find out that your spouse has been arrested, it is natural to have a lot of questions and want to know what is going on. But try to resist asking too many questions or wanting to know every detail right away-- most jails record phone calls, and you don't want your spouse to accidentally incriminate him or herself. Make sure that you ask what your spouse has been charged with, and what jail he or she is being held at. You will have time to go over the details of the arrest later.

Contact a Lawyer

If your spouse has been charged with a crime that is serious enough to land him or her in jail, it is important to hire a lawyer as soon as possible. Hiring a lawyer right away will give him or her more time to gather evidence and build a defense for your spouse. It is also better for your spouse to speak to a lawyer shortly after being arrested, when the details of the situation that led to the arrest are still fresh in his or her mind.

Post Bond

In order to get your spouse out of jail, you will need to post bond. The bond amount will depend on a few factors, such as the type of crime your spouse was charged with and his or her past criminal record-- bond will be set after your spouse meets with a judge.

You can post bond in full if you have the funds available, but many people cannot afford to pay the whole bond amount on their own on short notice. If you are in this situation, you can contact a bail bond company. A bail bond company will require you to pay them a percentage of the bond amount, and they will pay the rest so your spouse can be released from jail.

In many cases, the percentage you pay the bail bond company is non-refundable. You will want to make sure that your spouse attends every scheduled court case-- if he or she fails to appear in court, you may be legally responsible for paying back the bail bond company the full bond amount. Contact a company like A Bail Now Bail Bonds, Inc. for more information.