because my coworker lost her husband and when the bill collectors call her, she's like he's dead and they told her she's legally responsible too because they are married and "share" debt even though he took these loans out on his own. idk how that works for parents. I don't think you are legally bound to pay them but i think bill collectors can sue the estate and take what they are owed. this is beyond fucked up but in the case of my ex, when he died, he owed on his house and car. the loan originators just sold the car and house and for the house, they gave his mom the extra (the house sold for more than he owed) and for the car it sold less and the wrote off the balance. don't know what happened to his credit card debt. cell phone, cable, etc was all just written off. but thats a monthly bill not a "debt."