<prompt> Human: So I just received a call from a collection agency saying they are trying to collect on a 14,000 private student loan that I had co-signed for my ex-wife 2 years ago before we got married. I think I am fucked because apparently im not eligible for the co-signer release which is a option with some banks after 12-36 months of consecutive payments through the collection agency that called me. Apparently nobody at the collection agency can reach her, and its likely she wont respond to my Facebook messages. I told the guy over the phone that there is no way in hell id pay on that loan, but he said that the interest rate for the loan is 10.26 and that there is currently 122.53 of interest on top of the loan and itll only go up as long as it sits there and nobody pays. So I need some advice and options. How badly will this affect my credit if I let it go? Basically in the debt collectors minds her and I are equally responsible for the loan, so if I let this go and forget about it then itll affect my credit just as badly as hers right? I dont know what to do. The only way I would pay anything on this loan, is if I somehow got a hold of her and she agreed to pay the majority of it and I would supplement the payment somehow. I have my own student loans to pay 48k, and I just started building my credit back up when I get hit with this shit. Thanks for reading. Pro-tip: Dont co-sign anything for anyone. Update: Thank you some of you for your helpful replies. I did get a hold of my ex, and she said she will call the debt collector today to see if she can get my name off of the loan. Whether that happens or not, I dont know yet. Ill update if I learn anything new. I also called my attorney and left her a message, and ill update about that when she calls me back. I agree with some of you that the likely scenario is that they wont just take my name off of the debt even if she requests it because this way they have two people to go after for the money instead of just her. I will also inquire to see if someone else in her family would be willing to sign something that says theyll be the cosigner for the balance. If that doesnt work, and she skips out on the payments then I fully understand that ill be responsible for it. In that case ill try to get the whole amount over to my name so she doesnt benefit from the re-payment as far as her credit. I will update when I learn more.  <response>: This looks like it will be a stupid tax in the end no offense just a term. If I were in your shoes I would first figure out where the loans are currently located. If its truly in collections, then you can negotiate it down to a smaller lump sum down the road , but your credit will get hit pretty hard so will hers if that makes you feel better. If its still held by the lender then I would make minimum payments for the first few months while trying to get some response from your ex to take some responsibility. Ultimately though it looks like you will be stuck with this. You signed, its yours. That interest rate is brutal - so once you know for sure you are stuck with it, refinance to a lower rate will be in your name only but really what does it matter at this point and then start attacking it and pay it off. No good way out here. 