BY | December 29, 2021

If you or someone you know has recently been charged with domestic violence, the skilled and professional team at 24 Hour Online Bail Bonds is here to help you and your family move forward. Specifically, this article is for circumstances that involve children.

You need to know that we will never judge or criticize you or the situation you’re currently in—that’s not our job. We only want to guide you through this challenging time.

As such, if at any time you have questions or concerns regarding domestic violence charges, custody rights, and/or the bail process in general, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Remember, where are here for you—you’re not alone.

Defining Domestic Violence

In the State of California, domestic violence abuse can come in many different forms, including physical, emotional, mental, and even economic abuse. It doesn’t matter how the abuse unfolds, when it does, it can greatly affect the way courts make decisions about child custody.

Yet, before we delve into too much detail, we believe it’s important to give you more information about domestic violence—mainly, what domestic violence means in California. As stated above, domestic violence abuse comes in many forms, including the following:

• Intentionally or recklessly causing or trying to cause bodily injury
• Making others feel in danger of immediate bodily injury
• Sexual assault
• Harassment
• Stalking
• Threats

The conduct listed above is considered domestic violence when it’s committed against a current or former spouse, people who live together and/or are related by blood or marriage, people who have children together, or people who are/have been dating or engaged.

As you can imagine, when children are involved, the situation becomes more complicated.

Defining Child Custody

There are two different types of custody: legal and physical. Legal custody is a parent’s right to help make major decisions about a child’s life, while physical custody refers to where the child lives and who provides basic care.

It is the California legislature’s public policy to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of children. The legislature’s policy is that all court orders have to be made in a manner that ensures the safety of the child and the child’s family members. As a result, California custody law requires judges to take domestic abuse into account when determining legal and physical custody.

Additionally, judges must determine the best interests of a child and what will promote his or her health and welfare when deciding which parent gets custody. The courts must take a look at the history of abuse by a parent against the child, the other parent, or anyone else in the parent or person’s life who is seeking custody.

When it comes time for a judge to choose which parent will gain custody of a child, the judge can look at evidence that corroborates abuse accusations, including police reports, records from child protective services, social welfare agencies, medical facilities, court orders, and more. These circumstances could—and most likely will—affect the judge's decision in granting custody or altering custody. In some cases, a "rebuttable presumption" may be applied if abuse has taken place within the last five years.

Further, a judge is required by law to grant reasonable visitation rights to parents—unless visitation would not be in the child’s best interest. Visitation with conditions may be necessary, like having a third party supervise.

Defining the Bail Process

Bail bond agencies, like 24 Hour Online Bail Bonds, are generally available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Once it’s been determined that a bail bond will be used to get the defendant out of jail, paperwork will need to be signed. This paperwork details the collateral used to purchase the bond, the fees involved, and who is responsible for ensuring the defendant shows up to all court proceedings.

For the bail agent to set up the bond, the agent will need the full name of the defendant, the booking number, the charge or charges the defendant is facing, and the location of the jail. Then, the bail agent will bond the defendant out of jail. This entire process can take several hours, depending on how busy the jail is.

If the defendant fails to show up to his or her court proceedings, the person who took out the bail bond stands to lose their collateral and faces additional penalties.

There are different types of bail bonds in California, such as:

• Cash Bond—Bail is paid for in full with cash, a certified check, credit or debit card, or a money order
• Surety Bond—A surety bond refers to when a family or friend contacts a bail bond agency to help get a defendant out of jail via a bond
• Property Bond—Property is pledged to the court on behalf of the defendant, much like a lien, and held until the end of the case
• Own Recognizance—When a judge allows the defendant to be released from jail without bail
• Federal Immigration—Federal bonds are necessary when a defendant is detained by the Immigration and Naturalization Service; these bonds have the highest bail bond fee percentage

Defining the Cost of Bail

Bail for domestic violence cases throughout California is often $10,000 for a misdemeanor offense (Penal Code 243(e)), or $50,000 for a Felony (Penal Code 273.5). A felony is generally charged when evidence of physical harm has been done to one or more victims.

The price of a bail bond is determined by various factors, including location, the nature of the charge, and prior offenses. However, in most cases, the cost of the bond is between seven and ten percent of the bail amount.

Please note that when it comes to bail bonds, we offer free price quotes and payment plans, as well as discounts for all members of the military.

We accept the following types of payment:

• Credit Cards
• Debit Cards
• Cash
• PayPal
• Venmo
• Zelle
• Bank Transfers

For your convenience, you can make a bail payment online or over the phone.

Contact 24 Hour Online Bail Bonds Now!

We provide discrete, confidential services and never share information with any outside agencies. We'll beat most advertised prices and can be reached 24/7—by phone or online, 365 days a year. Feel free to contact us today if you still have questions, or if you’re ready to secure our services. We look forward to hearing from you.