It can be difficult to know precisely what you would do if you get the phone call to say that your family member is in jail. However, knowing what you have to do can be incredibly helpful in the event that you do have to face this challenge. Here is what to do when you find out your family member is in jail.
Try to Keep Calm
The first thing you need to do is try to keep calm. If you find out why your family member is in jail, it might invoke a very emotional response from you. Regardless of what it might be, you instead need to make sure that you find a way to calm down and relax once more.
Your family member is going to be relying on you to help them out – it is why they chose to call you. You can always choose to berate them or sever ways with them once they are out of jail if you do not approve of what they did. In the meantime, however, you need to make sure that your efforts are focused on getting them out. Save any anger or other emotions for later and concentrate on the task at hand.
Arrange Bail with the Right Help
If your family member is eligible for bail, you need to find out what the conditions are, and what bail has been set at. You then need to find out what steps will need to be taken to get bail paid so that they can get out. This is not always the simplest of processes, so you should find the right help to ensure that everything is filed correctly first time. Using experts like E Parker Bail Bonds will help you out immensely. They will be able to let you know which documents and paperwork are needed for the bond to help get your loved one out of jail. You might even be able to arrange all of this electronically, meaning that you will be able to do it all from the comfort of your own home.
Begin to Plan for the Future
Going to jail might be just the first step in the legal process for your loved ones. There could be court dates and potentially a longer prison sentence ahead, and you need to make sure that you begin to prepare for it. If this is your partner or someone else who might contribute to the running of your household, you need to make sure that you have a plan of action in place. This can range from finding a lawyer through to arranging travel for court appearances.
After all, you might need to change your budget, and you might have children or other family members that you need to speak to about what has happened. Having a family member in jail might really just be the first step in what could be a long and lengthy legal process, and you need to make sure that your family member and your extended circles around them are ready for it.
It can be a shock to the system to find out that you have a loved one in jail. However, if you are the other person on the end of their one phone call, you need to make sure that you are prepared to act in just the right way to get them out of jail. Know the steps that you have to take, and your family member could be out of jail faster than you might think.