2 Only Cash Cashiers Check Money Orders Or Credit: Fill & Download for Free

In the majority of jurisdiction where I have lived bail can only be paid by:CashCashier's check (Very limited and almost always at your bank)Money Order(s)Credit cardThe risks of someone paying the bail bondsman by check and having it returned for insufficient funds or worse having them stop payment are too great to risk doing business by personal check. Why someone would be foolish enough to try and cheat a bail bondsman (who BTW, will never do business with you again) is beyond me.I would advise the questioner to call the individual bail bond companies an asking them if they accept checks.NOTE: As Cliff Gilley notes below some bails are payable directly to the court; usually lower amounts that don't require bail bondsmen. The courts however, invariably will not accept checks for bail unless they are cashier's or certified ones.Woe be unto the person who is foolish enough to pass bad paper to the court.

First, my condolences on your landlord’s sudden passing. Yes, you are correct that to not pay could leave you at risk. I applaud your honest intention and foresight. Without knowing the state or jurisdiction in which you live, or the nature of your rental agreement (plus, my not being a lawyer), here is good consumer advice and what you may consider for your own "CYA" (covering your… doing proactive tenant self- protection).(1) For now, get, hold and keep safe, until further notice, the PAYMENT you want to make in a secure, third-party-verifiable, paper-trail form that PROVES you had the funds available on the date rent is due or by end of the grace period (up to the date written in the agreement if one applies). By verifiable, I mean it’s best to buy a CASHIERS CHECK from your bank, credit union or any local financial institution. Cost is from free to $12 normally. Ask your own credit union first then your bank for best prices and details.Here’s Why: A cashiers check is preferable to a money order, especially when a dispute arises, because the bank/credit institution can provide written proof relatively quickly should you ever need it, based on its mandatory retained records, that you ordered it, paid for it, made it payable to “Mr or Mrs Landlord or company.”Money order companies would have no such proof—only that you or somebody bought a M.O. for $x amount on a certain date. And it is much harder to get written proof of a M.O. transaction and could take weeks to get a copy of the blank M.O. Plus, if you lose a money order it could take months if you ever could get your money back for it.Cashier’s checks are issued with the payee field already typed in by the seller, and you can usually add a memo for the month and write “For Rent.” This proves your irrefutable willingness and intent to issue the rent on the due date, on time or within the allowable grace period. You paid your money out to get the cashiers check. This also is why it’s better to get a cashiers check than writing a personal or business check from your own account or simply saving the cash: it provides proof of funds or intention or that it was intended for rent. Plus, with the possible uncertainty of who takes over legally, when or how, one of the last things you want is an outstanding check floating around, not getting cashed, for who knows when or for how long.(2) Avoid this: A personal check written on your account could risk its falling into the wrong hands or being caught up in legal confusion. Death is messy oftentimes in business and family matters. Don't issue personal checks in any unclear situation—rent or any other transaction.(2) Always Keep a Lease Copy: Get your copy of your lease or rental agreement. (Please say you have one on hand, yes? Good). Put a back-up extra copy in a safe place and leave it with a friend or close relative outside of your rented space. Here’s Why: If the incoming landlord or any family member of the decedent is unscrupulous or messy in any way legally, you are not safe from underhanded tactics. With the landlord's legal ability to enter the dwelling—whether done lawfully or not— don’t rely on your documents’ or your money's safety.(Note: This may sound a bit over the top. It has been seen in certain rental situations. This must be a smaller apartment or a house for the death of one person to cause such a question. The landlord must also be a sole owner it seems. Unfortunate.)(3) Pay no one you cannot legally verify as the new owner or lawful property manager. Go to the court or get a lawyer from a legal aid assistance office if you cannot afford one or have a legal services plan. (I highly recommend keeping in place a LegalShield plan for this type of tenant's need for legal advice on call and other life situations. Read more on We are LegalShield if curious how it helps you. You may get membership there if interested. I am an associate to fully disclaim.)(4) Plan for a move if needed. It could take months—or indefinitely— before this is resolved in probate or if the deceased landlord was a sole owner with unidentified heirs. You may be the unfortunate one who gets an unkind notice to vacate if the lease ends or if it is now on a month-to-month.(5) Do NOT presume that any family member simply by relation to the landlord is now the new owner. That's not how LANDLORD-TENANT business arrangements work, nor are heirs that readily determined. The landlord is legally established (by laws in the state and deeds and business formation status and other complex documents) and your tenant rights are as well. Know your rights. Pay no one the cashiers check unless you have proof they own the property and collect rents. ****Imposters love these death or absentee landlord scenarios to rip off unsuspecting tenants! Paying the wrong party is the same as never having paid your rent.***(6) Be sure the property is not already in or heading to foreclosure! Many a tenant have been paying rent to a 'landlord' only to be shocked when the bank acts to sell it at auction or retain the property because no payments on the mortgage were made. Public records at the county where the property is located will show the true owner(s) of the real estate. Often the status and mortgage holder are also available. It's always good to know this as a renter—even in good times when things seem just fine.(7) Pay into an escrow account, which is a third-party, reputable, legal 'holder' of funds between two or more parties, usually a bank, financial services institution or a title company. There are usually fees. (The cashiers check is sort of a third party holding the money, loosely speaking.)(8) Go to the court for tenant matters and ask for its guidance in your jurisdiction. Your upfront, honest intention will be met with cooperation.Best Wishes and Be Informed, Empowered and Secure!(open to edit suggestions:)

A landlord could easily want something like this if they do not get out to the bank much.I suspect a cashiers check would also work.It’s a type of assured funds to protect themselves over a couple of situations:A check is a promise to pay in the future, with no guarantee that it has any funds backing it, or that the funds will remain there in the future, even if the check is good at the time it’s receivedA credit card is payment now which you can dispute and take back without actually payingCash means keeping cash on the premises until such time as they can get to the bank, and makes them a robbery targetSo a not negotiable bearer instrument.So the landlord can accept rent today, go down to the bank in two weeks, and deposit it, without having to be worried that it won’t turn into real money in their account, and without having to paint themselves as a target for thieves.A landlord may also require this sort of payment, even if they normally accept another kind of payment, if you are already deficient on your rent.For example, I’ve required cashier’s checks before, for a renter who bounced a rent check.