<prompt> Human: The story is a little complicated so bear with me as I describe it as best I can.My wife and I are in our mid-20s and living in Arizona. My mother-in-law lives in upstate NY. My in-laws have been divorced for about 7 years but the divorce was amicable and my father-in-law stayed on the mortgage of my MILs house so that she could comfortably afford it.Last fall my MIL got married to a man we will call John. John is a nice guy from her past who cares about her. He owns a few properties in PA and a mechanic shop as well. They married quickly, so quick that my wife only met him the week of the wedding.Enough of the family background, lets get into the finance. Since the marriage my FIL went off the mortgage and John went on with my MIL. The problem is the bank did not allow the mortgage to be refinanced and they cannot afford the mortgage moving forward. Their plan was to ask Johns wealthy aunt and uncle to give them a loan to pay off the house and pay them back on a more practical payback plan. The plan wasnt bad but it got flipped upside down. The aunt and uncle said no to the loan unless my wife who they never met signs a document co-signing the loan stating that if something were to happen to my MIL or John, she we would be on the hook for the loan.Immediately I said no because thats crazy. Simply put, we are in our 20s and both just got into grad school and have no money. I am not signing any family loan with strangers. My wife feels differently, as it is the home she grew up in and does not want to see her mom have to sell it. I understand this. She feels that worst case scenario if the loan falls to us, we simply sell the house to repay the loan. I am not nuanced enough in real estate and legal issues to blindly trust that.The fast of the matter is I am perplexed that my MIL didnt immediately veto the offer and asked my wife about the loan. It seems manipulative to put essentially the decision to sell her childhood home on her. Not to mention John has at least two other properties and a business that could be used for collateral. Im just not sure how my wife and I came into the minds of these people in the first place and how it was agreed upon by John and my MIL.Does anyone have any experience related to this problem at all? What is the worst case scenario I am looking at here? I am more trying to logically dissuade my wife from saying yes, as our livelihood could be at stake. Also yes, I not her will not be signing anything until a lawyer hired by us looks over any contract god forbid it even get that far.Thanks in advance for any responses. Also, to my wife who may see this and recognize my thinly veiled John cover for my story, I am sorry I posted this on Reddit but I feel alone in this and I am just looking out for our well-being haha I love you.  <response>: Generally the rule on this sub is to not co-sign a loan for anyone especially on a property your MIL and her new husband have openly stated they cannot afford without help from outside money. 