The bondsman is financially responsible when a defendant fails to appear -- and will lose (have estreated) the full amount of the bond (not just the 10% that the defendant, or someone on the defendant's behalf, had to give the bondsman) in order to get the bondsman to post the bond. (There are some exceptions to bond estreatures.) However, the standard procedure is: there is a signed agreement/contract between the bondsman and the defendant (or whoever contracts with the bondsman to post the bond for the defendant) that enables the bondsman to recoup the estreated bond amount from the defendant or person who arranged for the bond. Usually the bondsman, at the time of entering into the bond agreement, will require some form of collatral in order to ensure that the defendant, or whoever contracted with the bondsman, has sufficient funds from which the bondsman can recopu any loss he suffered from a bond estreature.
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