There are three main types of surety bonds: court, contract, and commercial. All of them act as guarantee on behalf of the principal.

Other than the principal, there are two more parties involved in surety bonds: The obligee and the surety. The obligee is the party for which the principal performs a specific service. The surety is obligated to pay the obligee if the principal defrauds or defaults the obligee.

For court surety bonds, the principal has the possibility of getting the bond exonerated. Here’s everything you need to know about exonerated surety bonds.

What Are Court Surety Bonds?

Court surety bonds range from bail bonds to custodian bonds. Any activity that involves a court ruling can be backed by a bond. All of these bonds require the principal to uphold the law and regulations in the duration of the court case. Some common court surety bonds include appeal, bail, fiduciary, custodian, judiciary, and executor bonds.

Which Court Surety Bonds Can be Exonerated?

Not all court surety bonds can be exonerated. In particular, only the following can be exonerated:

·        Judicial bonds. (Filed by the plaintiff and defendant. The defendant is required to pay a collateral to secure a bail bond.)

·        Fiduciary bonds (filed by a court-appointed person who handles the affairs of those who can’t manage their own affairs, e.g. minors, people with reduced mental capacity, etc.)

Upon exoneration, the principal receives an exoneration certificate and all the pertinent documents.

Why You Need an Exoneration Certificate

An exoneration certificate is issued by the court to the principal. The certificate clearly states that the surety is released from all the future liabilities of the principal.

This certificate should immediately be given to the surety as without the certificate, the bond is still considered active. The principal is required to bear the costs and the premium of the bond as long as it remains active. Once exonerated, both the principal and the surety are absolved from the obligations of the bond.

When Are These Bonds Exonerated?

While none of the court surety bonds can be canceled, the principal can receive bond exoneration in due time.

Typically, a bail bond gets exonerated when the alleged criminal appears for trial (regardless of whether they’re proven innocent or guilty).

Judicial and fiduciary bonds are exonerated when the bond is no longer needed, e.g. the services of a court appointed guardian are no longer needed because the children are no longer minors.

What Happens after the Surety Bond is Exonerated?

If you got a bail bond with a collateral, you’ll receive the collateral upon bond exoneration. However, the cash you paid will be kept by the surety company as payment for your bond.

In case of judicial and fiduciary bonds, you will only receive a cash refund if you gave cash to the court to serve as a handler. If you filed a bond to serve as one, you won’t receive cash after exoneration.

Court Bonds in Los Angeles

If you can’t afford to pay cash to the courts, you can file a bond with us at SuretyEZ. We offer all kinds of court surety bonds, including plaintiff, defendant, and fiduciary bonds to our clients across the country. We make the filing and the post-exoneration process swift and easy for our clients. To learn more about our surety bonds, contact us on our website.