Women in Pakistan once again find their rights being limited by their government’s stifling regulations. In April, the country’s parliament removed an amendment from its Code of Criminal Procedure that gave women in jail the right to bail via surety bonds.

The amendment had been added in 1997 to give women in jail the ability to post bail for almost any offense except those considered to be the most serious, such as terrorism, financial corruption or murder. The law required judicial officers to release accused women from prison if they provided a bail bond, a common surety bond type.

But this April, Pakistan’s parliament approved a government bill that omitted the previously approved provisos, thus removing the ability women have to be granted bail through a surety bond.

An article by the DAWN Media Group said the change would make life more difficult for Pakistani women. The article cited Barrister Masroor Shah, a lawyer based out of Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital city.

“’Earlier they could manage their release on a surety bond but now it will be very difficult to avoid imprisonment.’ He said now grant of bail is the sole discretion of the court. ‘Women have to follow lengthy legal process for bail.’”

Women may now only receive bail at the discretion of a judge on a case-by-case basis, which will inevitably lead to more Pakistani women being incarcerated over the long term. Women who are not granted bail will remain in jail for at minimum of six months for minor infractions.

The application process veterans undergo to receive benefits from the Department of Veteran Affairs can be arduous for themselves and their families. One particularly frustrating aspect of the process arises when a fiduciary needs to be appointed to manage a veteran’s finances and other assets.

Over the past few years, countless individuals have used the internet to share stories of fiduciaries who take advantage of the veterans in their lives. Although fiduciaries are technically asked to provide their services to veterans for free, they do have the ability to charge veterans monthly service fees — and they usually do. Furthermore, once a fiduciary is appointed, it’s incredibly difficult for the decision to be reversed, so countless veterans have fiduciaries who continue to siphon money from them on a monthly basis.

On January 4, 2011, the VA launched a fiduciary website that offers information to friends and family members interested in becoming a veteran’s fiduciary. Though the VA must still appoint the individual as a legal fiduciary, those close to veterans now have to ability to retain control of their finances, estates and benefits without having to pay the hefty fees charged by fiduciaries who work for the court.

This also means that individuals who are unfamiliar with surety bonds will need to familiarize themselves with the process. The VA established the fiduciary bond requirement to ensure that veterans have the ability to recollect their losses if fiduciaries should misuse funds entrusted to them.

According to the VA’s fiduciary website, the bond amount needed is determined based on the

value of the personal estate derived from Department of Veterans Affairs benefits plus the anticipated net income from Department of Veterans Affairs benefits received during the ensuing accounting period.

Because the bond amount required for fiduciary bonds is equal to the veteran’s total estate, some individuals might not qualify for the surety bond that’s required to become a legal fiduciary.

If a fiduciary does mishandle a veteran’s funds, a claim can be made against the bond to compensate for financial losses or other damages. If a fiduciary fails to purchase the fiduciary bond as outlined in §14.709, then the the Regional Counsel would not only notify the Veterans Service Center Manager, but also take the fiduciary to court.

In the end, the surety bond requirement for the VA fiduciary bond has not changed, but the potential audience to which it applies has. The range of potential fiduciaries has increased exponentially. Although some probate officers who work for the government might lose money from this change, veterans and their families will be able to hold on to more of their own money.

The National Association of Surety Bond Producers (NASBP) has released the industry’s first online continuing education course. The course, called “Commercial Surety Fundamentals,” centers around license and permit, court, fiduciary, public official and miscellaneous bonds.

NASPB created the course because surety providers generally make higher commissions on commercial bonds than on contract bonds.

According to the NASBP website,

“The National Association of Surety Bonds Producers (NASPB) has partnered with WebCE, a leading nationwide provider of Continuing Education for insurance professionals to provide an online Commercial Surety Fundamentals course. CE credits have been applied for in all states an will be available as they are approved. The sane course is also available as a non-CE training course.”

So far most of states have determined that the course content fulfills the continuing education requirement for licensed surety providers. Hours required for licensing vary by state, from five hours for a Washington surety bond license to 10 hours for a Texas surety bond license. Official approval is still pending in a few states.

The course costs $189 and consists of four separate chapters:

1. Commercial Surety Fundamentals
2. Evaluating Risk and Exposure
3. Underwriting the Principal
4. Professional Bond Agency Responsibilities

NASBP and WebCE designed the course so that surety bond professionals could work at their own pace. Individuals have a full calendar year to complete the course, which includes passing a comprehensive exam.

Those interested in taking the course can register on the NASPB website.

Bail bondsmen act as sureties to make sure their clients get out of jail in the quickest manner possible. But what happens when a bondsman is the one who finds herself behind bars?

Jessie Garland knows the feeling. She was arrested for—and plead guilty to—bribing a court collections officer to change bond records. On Friday, December 17 she was sentenced to a year and one day in jail.

Those prosecuting Garland claimed that she and another bond agent bribed a court officer to change records for some of their clients who had skipped bail. This kept the agents from having to pay off their surety bonds to the court. Officials estimated the city’s loss to be nearly $470,000.

According to a story by the Associated Press, at her trial Garland admitted knowing the significance of her actions, but that she committed the crime in the interest of her clients. “My intention was to help as many people as I could because I knew how it felt to be afraid to go to court,” she said.

Avoid dishonest surety providers

Our authors frequently write guest posts for other blogs, and we often advise readers to inquire into the bonded status of a professional to ensure his or her reliability. But what do you do when the professional that you’re working with is a surety bond specialist?

1. Check to see if the surety provider is licensed to do business in your state.
   From time to time we get complaints from disgruntled professionals who have worked with a surety provider that was never licensed to work in the state in which the bond was issued. Essentially this means that the bond is null and the principal will have to undergo the bonding process again through a provider that is licensed to execute bonds within the jurisdiction. SuretyBonds.com is a surety bond producer that is licensed to execute bonds nationwide.
2. Look into the provider’s professional record.
   Try searching online for the surety’s work record. If the surety is a major nationwide provider and has been involved with any inappropriate behavior, it’s likely been reported online. You can also determine how long the provider has been operating as a business in your state. You can also look into the owner’s professional record once you determine under whose name the business operates.
3. Validate the agency’s authenticity
   Contrary to popular belief, checking into a provider’s status as a member of the Better Business Bureau may not be the most accurate way to validate an agency’s authenticity, as the basic condition required to join the organization is simply paying a membership fee. A more accurate way to validate the legitimacy of a surety provider is to contact the Surety & Fidelity Association of America, which keeps a record of valid surety bonds. If you’re concerned about the legitimacy of a bond you have purchased, contact the SFAA to determine its standing. You can also contact the SFAA to determine whether a surety provider is associated with the organization.

Charlie Sheen is no stranger to the law. He’s also pretty familiar with the freeing power of surety bonds.

The actor spent most of Christmas Day in a Colorado county jail after being arrested on a domestic violence charge. On Friday evening, he stood before 9th Judicial District Court Judge James Boyd.

Around  7 p.m., the star of “Two and Half Men” and movies like “Major League” and “Platoon” posted an $8,500 bond and was released from jail. He’s scheduled to appear in the Pitkin County Courthouse on Feb. 8.

Bail agents and surety companies handle all types of bonds, including jail bonds. These bonds allow people who have been charged with a crime to walk out of jail by basically guaranteeing they will return for their court date.

Arrested parties in need of one of these bonds are usually on the hook for the nonrefundable bond premium, along with local or municipal charges.

Image: Alice Cope (Flickr Creative Commons)