[zyrthofar]

But wouldn't that mean that you and your SO would inherit these debts when she dies, and there's nothing you can do about this? That's truly awful :(.

[voxic11]

In the United States and most countries I'm aware of debts cannot be inherited.

[kba]

I think most places, debts can be inherited voluntarily, but you can't cherry pick.

If your dead aunt had a Mercedes 190SL, but also owes $200,000, you can either take both or nothing.

But yeah – they won't end up in debt themselves, unless they choose to.

[vidarh]

Yeah, my dad died in debt (Norway), and we were able to pick any personal effects of minor monetary value without issue, and then make the choice whether to take the rest of his assets and the debts, or neither.

It only really becomes an issue if you have a strong personal attachment to assets that have high monetary value, like e.g. perhaps your childhood home - otherwise it boils down to a financial consideration.

[infinite8s]

You aren't inheriting the debts - you are inheriting the estate after all debts have been settled. So the estate could be worth 0, but you'll never inherit a negative estate.

[gambiting]

That's exactly how this works. Either you take all of it, debts included or nothing. Or in some countries you let lawyers sort it out first, where they make sure all debts are paid off, they take their fee, and then you inherit whatever is left.

[michael_h]

I don't think you can inherit cash loan debt. You can inherit property that is still under mortgage (no problem there), but then it's a choice: keep the house and pay the mortgage debt or sell the house/give it to the bank.

[tiatia]

You can't inherit debt. At least you can't be forced to accept it. (You can select to reject any inheritance, be it positive or negative)

[tzakrajs]

Maybe in a country where such a dashed thing is possible, but I believe the OP is in the US.