<prompt> Human: My mother passed earlier this week and left behind 86,000 in Sallie Mae loans from getting a Masters degree. We live in NY state. She had no cosigner and no assets in her name, just a bank account with a few thousand dollars. Our house and her car are completely in my fathers name. We have copies of the death certificate but were nervous to call Sallie Mae before knowing what to expect. I didnt find any specific answers in the wiki or in a search. Any help or insight is appreciated, Thank You.edit: we just found out the loans are now owned by Navient, previously Sallie Mae, and first by CitiBank. edit2: also wanted to add that she has been on Medicaire for 4 yrs and had no life insuraceAssistant: Im very sorry for your loss.Your question seems to very from state to state. Is there a lawyer handling the estate?Human: Not yet because there isnt really an estate to handle? My father does have a lawyer we could consult. Its just adding to a difficult time because my Dad had no idea she had these loans in the first place.  <response>: You should speak to a lawyer since you have one to speak to, but in general, debt that is not co-signed is not heritable by other persons who are living. The only entity with an obligation to pay is her estate, and if she has no estate to pay the debt, the debts are extinguished with her death. Do not believe anyone, other than a lawyer hired by you, that tells you that you owe anything. 