<prompt> Human: As the title says my mother passed away unexpectedly. My father is in shambles about what he should do. We have a 140,000 dollar life insurance policy that is helping with things. We have a cell phone plan with att that Im not sure to do with or cancelchange until we get the death certificate. The house and both cars are in both names. She took on student loans for me so Im not sure what to do about that as well. Also she has credit cards that were in her name only. Any advice would be appreciated, thank you.  <response>: First of all, sorry for your loss. You might consider putting off these decisions for short time to give yourself some time to come to terms with what has happened.As another commenter says, do not take on any of your mothers debts beyond those you are obligated to by state law. Remember, creditors deal with enormous numbers of people. Although your mothers death is a horrible event for you and your family, its just another business day to her creditors. The interest rates and fees we pay to credit card companies and banks have been calculated to cover noncollectable debts that do occur. We all pay the banks for the possibility a debt might not be repaid for various reasons. Although you might speak to individuals who are sympathetic to your situation, you should assume that their corporations do not give a damn, only exist to make money, and are happy to take advantage of a grieving family. Dont let them guilt you into propping up their profits and dont pay them a dime more than you are legally obligated to pay.Theres lots of information available online about your situation, but it definitely makes sense to hire an expert to advise your family if you can afford to do so. 