My granddaughter left her boyfriend in Colorado and stayed with us while waiting for an apartment in Chicago. She asked

Question

if we could co sign her 
lease.  We are 70 and retired.  She has left apartments with unpaid rent in the past.  We said we could not but she said that the company had waived the cosighner.  We gave her furniture and she moved.  We heard from her and she sent pictures of the apartment.  She was to have come home for Christmas but never called or made contact with us.  Last month I received a text from the Apartment management company stating that Emily owed six months of rent and fees and that since the lease was in my name,  I was responsible!  Emily even set up an email so they claim that they have been contacting me through it and that I was igoring them!  I explained that I never signed anything or even heard of the email.  How can I prove that I did not do this? They say that the balance is over $7000.00. Michele

Brent T. Geers · Answer

This might be something you may not want to do given the family relationship, but is something you would likely need to do to clear your name: you will need to report this to the police. Until you do, the apartment complex will continue to hold you responsible for the balance. 
 
Your other option is to pay off the debt, clear your name, and take this matter up within the family...and hope she never does anything like this again (somewhat unlikely given her course of conduct). What does her parents think about all this?

Q: My granddaughter left her boyfriend in Colorado and stayed with us while waiting for an apartment in Chicago. She asked