The other end of the spectrum is debtors' prisons, which are such a terrible idea for multiple reasons that we've mostly gotten rid of them (except for situations like child support debt where self righteous indignation overrides good policy).
If A and B both invest in, say, a house, and B disappears leaving debts behind, at least A can sell the house and B isn't getting any ongoing utility from it.
My genetic future isn't any kind of investment. I'm never seeing any return on that.