<prompt> Human: My mom is thinking about refinancing all of her loans credit cards, home, car, kids student loans so that she can consolidate them into one, 250,000 loan. Shes a little nervous about whether shell get approved, so shes asking me to cosign the loan with her. She says shell take care of the payments, but she might need my credit to get her approved. While I want to help her, I have some concerns. First, if something happens to her, do I become responsible for the remainder of the loan? Second, I have concerns about her ability to pay the loan regularly. Could this affect my credit score?Assistant: DO NOT CO-SIGN THIS LOAN.In legal terms, your mom is asking you to be fully responsible for 250,000 of debt.Do you want to give your mother 250,000? Shes a little nervous about whether shell get approved, so shes asking me to cosign the loan with her.If a bank, who figures out if people can pay back potential loans professionally, wont loan your mom the money, why should you take responsibility for her two hundred and fifty thousand dollars worth of debt? She says shell take care of the paymentsRight, except for the part where if she cant or wont pay, you now own 250,000 of debt.We have seen this story countless times before. You are not special. The BEST possible outcome for you is neutral, and every other possible outcome results in pain and misery for you. There is NO UPSIDE to this. Co-signing is a terrible idea. DO NOT CO-SIGN. First, if something happens to her, do I become responsible for the remainder of the loan?if you co-sign, you are IMMEDIATELY fully responsible for the loan. After you both sign, your mother could then immediately say fuck it, Im not paying and you will have to then pay off the debt yourself. Second, I have concerns about her ability to pay the loan regularly.Yeah, so does the bank. Thats why your mom thinks she wont get the loan. Could this affect my credit score?Yes, especially if your mom doesnt pay the loan on time or at all. But you know whats more important than your credit score? NOT HAVING 250,000 WORTH OF DEBT IN YOUR NAME. While I want to help herCo-signing this debt does not help you, and it does not help your mother. It would enable your mother, a person with awful spending and financial management skills, to dig the hole even deeper. Your mother is likely headed for bankruptcy and other unpleasantries. All youre asking us now is if you should join her on the sinking ship. Obviously the answer is NO!!Human: Thanks for the advice. I dont have much money experience, and after reading this, as well as some of the other responses, I think Im pretty set on not cosigning.  <response>: Youll be so glad you made this thread in 5 years. 