<prompt> Human: My grandmother co-signed on a student loan Im in the process of paying back, and I know if by some crazy chance she outlives me, she would be stuck with the loan she co-signed on. But what about all my other debts? Im single, have no dependants. Would my family be responsible? And if so, how do they figure that out? My parents are divorced--would they both be responsible for half?  <response>: In the US, if you die with a negative net worth, your relatives even your direct heirs, such as kids, though it gets rather a lot fuzzier with spouses can refuse to accept your estate. In that case, your creditors get the short end of the stick, and nothing they can do about it.Note, however, that that doesnt stop them from trying to collect from your relatives, and they will. But they have absolutely no legitimate claim against any of them, and it amounts to nothing more than the standard collection agency fare of hollow threats to kill your dog. 