If you have student loans, it may sometimes seem like this debt will haunt you for life. You may worry that student debt will outlive you – or wonder what would happen to him if you died. What happens to your student loans when you die?
What happens to student loans after death?
The answer may be different for student loans than the way you handle your second debt after death, but ultimately it depends on the type of student loans you have. Look at these types of student loans and how the death of you, your parent, spouse or signer can affect this debt.
When student loans die with you
For most federal student loans, the debt is written off when the student or borrower dies. All that is required is to provide the student loan company with a death certificate and the loan will disappear.
- This applies to these types of federal student loans:
- Direct subsidized loans
- Direct non-subsidized loans
- Direct consolidation loans
- Perkins federal loans
This also applies to private student loans as long as no one has signed the loan. If the student who died was the only borrower, the loan will die with them.
What will happen to your private credit debt?
If you die because of a private debt, your future will depend on the lender’s policy.
Private loans taken out on your own are likely to be forgiven. (Ask your lender for a death release policy.) But a private loan signed by a parent or someone else may not be.
Signers are as responsible for the loan as the student. In the event of the student’s death, the signatory must pay the loan, unless the lender has other rules.
This applies to most existing loans, but not new loans. All loans incurred after November 20, 2018. They must release the person signing the contract in the event of the student’s borrower’s death, due to the provisions of the Act on economic growth, regulatory relief and consumer protection.
How to protect yourself and your family
There are two simple ways to protect yourself and ensure that student loans don’t cause problems for your family.
First, never offer a loan to school. Student loan debt is the worst debt and can be a huge burden for parents, especially during times of sadness. If you need student loans, stick to federal student loans.
Secondly, consider taking out student life insurance until the debt for which you are responsible disappears. For example, if you signed a $ 20,000 loan, consider buying a $ 20,000 life insurance policy per student. The policy would be extremely cheap (probably less than $ 10 a month), but if something happened, the insurance money would be there to pay off any outstanding debts.
