[tonysdg]

Fairly certain at least some of those debts can get passed on to your estate and/or children.

[kortilla]

Your estate is just your assets, so yes to that. Your children, not in the US.

You can never involuntarily inherit debt in the US. You have to be a co-signer to begin with.

[skh]

In some states for certain medical expenses family members can be forced to assume the debt.

[kgwgk]

Interesting. But strictly speaking you’re not inheriting debt. You were liable for the debt all the time.

[skh]

I would agree with that assessment but for the fact that while alive the parent's medical debt can't be forced upon family members. It's a weird debt and I agree it isn't quite the same as inheriting it but I also think it isn't the same a jointly assumed liability while the parent is alive. The family members presumably have no say in whether or not the parent assumes the medical debt.