<prompt> Human: My dad accumulated the debt while keeping his practice afloat. He cant afford to pay off the debt but always makes his payments. He actually does some bankruptcy work. I live out of town, have no debt of my own but am moderately broke, and am not a lawyer and cant easily afford a lawyer. In the past, when Ive tried to talk to my dad about this, hes told me it wasnt a big deal and that he could write a letter saying it was really his debt or something, but a mortgage broker told my husband the only reason debt collectors arent at my door is that my dad makes his payments. One problem there is that I really own nothing but books, so, if debt collectors come after my stuff, they might try to take my spouses stuff, which alarms my spouse. I like my dad and dont really want him to go to prison. Anyhow: does anyone have any ideas about any strategies other than going to the cops? Would debt consolidation that wasnt a scam be an option? Would consolidating the debt be possible without my dads help?  <response>: You are not responsible for debt you did not legally incur.You can file a police report saying someone stole your identity and used it to get credit.This should protect you from collectionsit will not, without effort.The real answer is talk with your dad and say Im trying to establish my life, you need to pay this off NOW, do not include any threats or ultimatums. Your dad is a lawyer, this is like a red flag in front of a bull. Go with the small child approach. 