Receiving a call from a family member or close friend saying that he or she is being held in jail can be alarming. Most people want to get out of jail as quickly as possible, so you may be asked to help your loved one get out. Use the following tips to learn more about what you should do when a friend or family member is in jail:

Don't Ask Too Many Questions Over the Phone

It is natural to want to know why a family member or friend is in jail, but it is a good idea not to ask too many questions over the phone. Calls made from jail are typically recorded, and anything that your friend or family member says can be used against him or her if he or she says something incriminating. Ask your friend or family member what jail he or she is in and what the charges are-- you can learn the details after release. 

Contact a Lawyer

Depending on the charges, it is probably a good idea to contact a lawyer to represent your family member or friend. Working with a lawyer will also make the release process easier, as a lawyer is very familiar with the procedure of bailing people out of jail. The lawyer can accompany you to the jail to get you family member or friend released.

Posting Bail

Posting bail involves paying a fee set by the court as a guarantee that the person charged will show up in court on the date ordered. The amount of bail required for a person to be released typically depends on what crime he or she was charged with. You can pay for the bail amount with a cash or check, but in many cases people find that the bail ordered is more than they can afford to pay. In these cases you can contact a bail bond company to put up the bail amount on the behalf of your family member or friend. Bail bond companies typically require a fee of 10% of the set bail amount, which is not refundable. A bail bond company may also require you to put up collateral that guarantees that your family member or friend will appear in court, so make sure that you completely trust the person who you are bailing out of jail.

Appearing in Court

It is very important that your family member or friend appears in court when scheduled after being bailed out of jail. Failure to appear can result in an arrest warrant being issued against him or her, and you can get stuck for paying the full amount of the bail to the bail bond company that you worked with (such as All Night & Day Bailbonds).