Omnipresence

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Doesn't debts just go away after 7 years?

What are they gonna do, seize all my (non-existent) property?

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Negative. That's how long it takes a bankruptcy to fall off your record. Unresolved debt and debt collectors will hound you until it's taken care of, and screw up your credit for the duration.

SavvyWolf

Remember: If you kill yourself, all your debts get transferred to your next of kin!

Disclaimer: I don't know if this actually happens. Wouldn't surprise me though.

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Most don't, no (US). It just goes to your estate, so if you have anything of value that will be sold to help with it before it goes to any of your loved ones.

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Depends on country.

In some it only goes to them if they accept inheritance.

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Not really, there are time limits where they can't sue you anymore, and credit agencies will stop reporting the original debt holder, but you're in the hook for life, usually even if you pay it off if it passes more than one collector.

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On you're "in the hook for life", but they also can't sue you to force you to pay?

Well then just ignore them.

Kate-ay

Nah, I checked. Just in case.

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Sure, as long as you no longer need credit that works out. Also since we're talking the US, that's as long as you don't need a job, to rent, to drive, or do anything else that requires a credit check.

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I wish debt was not allowed

ArchRecord

Disclaimer: I don’t know if this actually happens. Wouldn’t surprise me though.

It depends on the circumstance.

When you die, all your assets become part of your estate, which is usually then distributed either to your spouse, next of kin, or whatever individuals/nonprofits you name in your will.

If your house is part of that estate, and has a mortgage, then if your family wants to claim the house from the estate, they then have to take responsibility for, and pay the mortgage until they can sell the house, for instance.

If you owed a debt before you died, then died, and your estate had money in it, the lender would get to request that the estate pay off the debts owed before the family could lay claim to the remainder.

But in no way do any debts ever simply transfer from a deceased person to the next of kin without explicit consent, often within very specific situations, like taking claim of a house with a mortgage.

ArchRecord

Debt can have its benefits depending on the use case.

Expecting the average person to save up the full price of a house before buying it is simply an unattainable standard for most people to meet. The same can go for cars, too.

Sometimes, debt can just smooth out uneven pay periods. If you need to spend $200/mo, and in 2 months you get paid $150 and $250 respectively, you'll need $50 of debt in that first month to smooth out your varied income, before paying it back in the 2nd month.

It's primarily the predatory practices and systems (high interest, encouraging it where it's not needed, hidden junk fees, etc) that make debt so harmful, not the fundamental concept of debt itself.

And oh, just a random fun fact you might actually find quite interesting, did you know that debt existed before money did? It was actually the primary thing that allowed individuals to engage in trade, and money only came along later as a means of tracking debt.

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No.

But if it did, it'd be funny to just take out a huge loan, use it to enjoy yourself, then when the money runs out, end your life, and the debt goes to a toxic relative to fuck up their life.

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But if I can't get a job due to debt how do they expect me to pay it? What a dumb system...

peopleproblems

Wait hold on

Wouldn't that mean that lenders have a vested interest in keeping borrowers alive especially if they have extreme net debt?

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They have a vested interest in their borrowers not dying. This manifests as not lending to people at increased risk rather than any kind of protective or preventive action.

DankOfAmerica

your loved ones

Bold of you to assume I have loved ones. My estate is getting split in half between two charities.

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That's true. I definitely agree that debt can be useful; I guess it's more the feeling of indebtedness that I wish didn't exist

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Keeping alive and quality of life are different things.