Quote:
Your government loans will not survive your death. This means that your estate will not have to pay back your student loans. Also, the death of both parents with a PLUS loan (assuming both took out the loan) is grounds for the “death discharge.” The death of only one of the two obligated parents does not cancel a PLUS loan. A parent can also discharge a PLUS loan if the student for whom the parent received the loan dies.
Discharge because of the borrower’s death (or, in the case of PLUS Loans, the death of the student for whom the parent borrowed) is based on an original or certified copy of the death certificate submitted to the school (for a Federal Perkins Loan) or to the holder of the loan (for a FFEL or Direct Stafford Loan).
WARNING FOR PRIVATE LOAN BORROWERS: There is no administrative discharge for private student loans when the borrower dies. Private loan debts will be handled the same way as other debts. That means that they will be part of the borrower’s estate. This estate settlement process (also called probate) varies by state.
I hope this answers the question about what happens if you die.
I don't look forward to my loans. I'm at about $16k right now, with a little bit of personal debt outside of the student loans. Fortunately, my fiancee has zero debt and is almost done with school as well. So between the two of us, we'll have like $20kish.