If you or someone in your family has a student loan that was signed by a parent or grandparent, you could find yourself in the unfortunate situation that many Americans are finding themselves in lately. Because of a clause in many student loan contracts, if the loan is cosigned by a family member, and that family member dies, the loan becomes due immediately. The issue came to light recently as the practice has become more common among banks and other financial institutions. This does not affect federal student loans. For the full story, click here.