Grandparents Stuck with $169K Student Loans After Grandson Can't Get A Job – Suze Orman Says Refinance The Home
Grandparents Stuck with $169K Student Loans After Grandson Can't Get A Job – Suze Orman Says Refinance The Home
Jeannine ManciniSat, February 28, 2026 at 3:00 AM UTC
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They did what so many grandparents do. They stepped in.
On the “Suze Orman Show,” a woman called in about a decision that probably felt generous at the time and heavier later. She and her husband co-signed $169,000 in student loans for their grandson over five years. Graduation was approaching. A job was not. And in six months, the first bill would come due.
She had already done the math. The combined payments on his private loans and a bank loan would total about $1,100 a month. When asked if they could cover it if their grandson could not, she answered plainly: "Yes, we could, but we all would be doing is existing."
That was the real issue. Not whether they could scrape by. Whether they should have to.
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The Fine Print Behind A Family Favor
Suze Orman immediately zeroed in on the structure of the debt. The total stunned her.
"Are you telling me that you and your husband both co-signed $169,000 of student loans for your grandchild?" she asked.
The answer was yes. Over five years. Mostly private loans. One from a bank. An interest rate the caller believed was locked at 5.25%.
"Well, let's hope that's true," Orman said when told the rate was fixed.
Then she raised an issue many families miss when emotions are running high. "If your grandson, God forbid, I don't want this to happen, but if your grandson were to die, do you still owe the payments on that private student loan for him?" she asked.
The grandmother believed the debt would not survive him, based on her research. Orman urged her to confirm it, adding, "Because many private student loans, you still owe the money."
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That is the quiet risk in co-signing private loans. Protections vary. Terms vary. Responsibility does not.
Orman also wanted to understand how the arrangement began.
"When you first did this, did your grandson say to you, granny, don't worry, I am going to be making these payments?" she asked.
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There had been a plan. The grandparents would pay a third. The grandson would pay a third. His parents would pay a third. But his parents were "out of the picture," with no money to contribute.
What looked balanced on paper shifted quickly in real life.
That shift is not unusual. Family agreements often rely on best-case assumptions. A job offer. Stable income. Shared responsibility. When one piece falls away, the co-signer remains fully liable.
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Refinance The House Or Refinance The Risk?
The couple owned their home outright. It was paid off.
Orman suggested refinancing it and taking out a $169,000 mortgage to pay off the private student loans. "I think it's a far better way for you to do this," she said, explaining that a mortgage could lower the monthly payment dramatically and be a tax write off. "If I were in your situation, I would literally be refinancing my home, paying off the student loans, do a 30-year mortgage. Believe it or not, the payments will not be that much."
Her reasoning was structural. Private student loans are not tax deductible and are not dischargeable in bankruptcy. A fixed-rate mortgage offers predictable payments and potential tax advantages. In her view, consolidating the debt under one stable loan could give the grandparents more control, while allowing the grandson to make payments directly to them.
It is a significant decision. It ties the debt to the home. But it also replaces multiple private obligations with one fixed schedule.
For families facing similar crossroads, this is where stepping back matters. A financial advisor can walk through the scenarios, compare keeping the loans as is versus refinancing, and measure how either choice affects cash flow, taxes and long-term security. Ideally, those conversations happen before co-signing six figures. But they are just as valuable when a payment deadline is six months away.
Because $169,000 is not just a student loan balance. It is a reminder that when love signs the paperwork, math eventually signs it too.
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