diff --git a/pkg/grpc/parentwatch.go b/pkg/grpc/parentwatch.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f6a8e2009
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/grpc/parentwatch.go
@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
+package grpc
+
+import (
+	"log"
+	"os"
+	"runtime"
+	"strings"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// Backend worker processes (the per-model gRPC servers LocalAI spawns) are
+// deliberately placed in their own process group by the process manager so
+// LocalAI's graceful shutdown can signal the whole group. That graceful path
+// (SIGTERM -> grace -> SIGKILL, driven by pkg/signals + pkg/model) only runs
+// when LocalAI itself receives a catchable signal and lives long enough to run
+// its handlers. If LocalAI is SIGKILLed (e.g. a supervising process's
+// graceful-shutdown grace period elapses first), that teardown never runs and
+// this backend would be reparented to init and linger, holding VRAM and its
+// listen port.
+//
+// The watcher below is a best-effort backstop for exactly that case: it does
+// NOT replace the graceful teardown, it only covers the "parent vanished
+// without cleaning up" path. It works by detecting reparenting: when the
+// process that spawned this backend dies, the kernel reparents us to the
+// nearest sub-reaper or to init (PID 1), so getppid() stops matching the value
+// we captured at startup. This getppid() approach is portable across
+// Linux/macOS (unlike Linux-only PR_SET_PDEATHSIG), which is why it's used
+// here rather than a kernel parent-death signal.
+const (
+	// EnvBackendParentWatch toggles the parent-death watcher. It is enabled by
+	// default; set it to a falsey value ("false", "0", "no", "off") to disable
+	// (e.g. when running a backend standalone for debugging under a shell whose
+	// lifetime shouldn't govern the backend).
+	EnvBackendParentWatch = "LOCALAI_BACKEND_PARENT_WATCH"
+	// EnvBackendParentWatchInterval overrides the poll interval as a Go
+	// duration string (e.g. "500ms"). Defaults to defaultParentWatchInterval.
+	EnvBackendParentWatchInterval = "LOCALAI_BACKEND_PARENT_WATCH_INTERVAL"
+
+	defaultParentWatchInterval = 2 * time.Second
+)
+
+// parentWatchEnabled reports whether the watcher should run in this process.
+func parentWatchEnabled() bool {
+	switch strings.ToLower(strings.TrimSpace(os.Getenv(EnvBackendParentWatch))) {
+	case "false", "0", "no", "off":
+		return false
+	}
+	// Windows does not reparent orphans to a well-known init PID, so the
+	// getppid() heuristic used here doesn't apply there.
+	return runtime.GOOS != "windows"
+}
+
+// parentWatchInterval returns the configured poll interval, or the default.
+func parentWatchInterval() time.Duration {
+	if v := os.Getenv(EnvBackendParentWatchInterval); v != "" {
+		if d, err := time.ParseDuration(v); err == nil && d > 0 {
+			return d
+		}
+	}
+	return defaultParentWatchInterval
+}
+
+// parentDied reports whether this process has been reparented away from the
+// parent it had when the watcher started. Reparenting is the standard POSIX
+// signal that the original parent (here, the LocalAI process that spawned this
+// backend) has exited: the orphan is handed to the nearest sub-reaper or to
+// init (PID 1), so getppid() no longer matches the value captured at startup.
+func parentDied(origPPID int) bool {
+	ppid := os.Getppid()
+	return ppid != origPPID || ppid == 1
+}
+
+// watchParentDeath polls until parentDied reports the original parent is gone,
+// then invokes onDeath. It blocks, so run it in its own goroutine.
+func watchParentDeath(origPPID int, interval time.Duration, onDeath func()) {
+	ticker := time.NewTicker(interval)
+	defer ticker.Stop()
+	for range ticker.C {
+		if parentDied(origPPID) {
+			onDeath()
+			return
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// startParentDeathWatcher installs the best-effort safety net described above
+// on the calling backend process. It is a no-op when disabled or on platforms
+// where the mechanism doesn't apply. This is a backstop alongside — never a
+// replacement for — LocalAI's graceful SIGTERM->grace->SIGKILL teardown.
+func startParentDeathWatcher() {
+	if !parentWatchEnabled() {
+		return
+	}
+	origPPID := os.Getppid()
+	// A parent of 1 at startup means we were already orphaned (or launched
+	// directly under init) — there's no original parent to watch for.
+	if origPPID <= 1 {
+		return
+	}
+	interval := parentWatchInterval()
+	go watchParentDeath(origPPID, interval, func() {
+		log.Printf("backend parent process (pid %d) exited without stopping this backend; self-terminating to avoid orphaning", origPPID)
+		os.Exit(1)
+	})
+}
diff --git a/pkg/grpc/parentwatch_test.go b/pkg/grpc/parentwatch_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b3af0c79d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/grpc/parentwatch_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,163 @@
+//go:build !windows
+
+package grpc
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"runtime"
+	"strconv"
+	"syscall"
+	"time"
+
+	. "github.com/onsi/ginkgo/v2"
+	. "github.com/onsi/gomega"
+)
+
+// These env vars drive the helper roles this test binary re-executes itself as
+// (see the init() dispatcher). They are only set for the spawned child/
+// grandchild processes, never for the normal `go test` invocation.
+const (
+	envRole   = "LOCALAI_PARENTWATCH_TEST_ROLE"
+	envReady  = "LOCALAI_PARENTWATCH_TEST_READY"  // grandchild writes its PID here once the watcher is armed
+	envExited = "LOCALAI_PARENTWATCH_TEST_EXITED" // grandchild writes here when it detects reparenting
+)
+
+// init dispatches the helper roles when this test binary is re-executed with a
+// role set. It runs before the testing/Ginkgo machinery, and is a no-op during
+// a normal test run (role unset).
+func init() {
+	switch os.Getenv(envRole) {
+	case "middle":
+		runMiddleRole()
+	case "grandchild":
+		runGrandchildRole()
+	}
+}
+
+// childEnv returns the current environment with the parentwatch test role set
+// to the given value (replacing any inherited role), leaving the ready/exited
+// file paths inherited.
+func childEnv(role string) []string {
+	out := make([]string, 0, len(os.Environ())+1)
+	for _, kv := range os.Environ() {
+		if len(kv) > len(envRole) && kv[:len(envRole)+1] == envRole+"=" {
+			continue
+		}
+		out = append(out, kv)
+	}
+	return append(out, envRole+"="+role)
+}
+
+// runGrandchildRole arms the REAL watchParentDeath against its current parent
+// (the "middle" process), signals readiness, then blocks. When middle exits and
+// we are reparented, the watcher fires and we record it before exiting.
+func runGrandchildRole() {
+	exitedFile := os.Getenv(envExited)
+	readyFile := os.Getenv(envReady)
+
+	origPPID := os.Getppid()
+	go watchParentDeath(origPPID, 50*time.Millisecond, func() {
+		_ = os.WriteFile(exitedFile, []byte("1"), 0o644)
+		os.Exit(7)
+	})
+
+	// Safety valve: never linger if something goes wrong with the test.
+	go func() {
+		time.Sleep(30 * time.Second)
+		os.Exit(2)
+	}()
+
+	// Signal readiness only after the watcher captured origPPID, so middle
+	// won't exit before we've recorded it as our original parent.
+	_ = os.WriteFile(readyFile, []byte(strconv.Itoa(os.Getpid())), 0o644)
+
+	select {} // block until the watcher terminates us
+}
+
+// runMiddleRole spawns the grandchild (which arms the watcher against us),
+// waits until it is ready, then exits — orphaning the grandchild so it gets
+// reparented, which is what the watcher must detect.
+func runMiddleRole() {
+	readyFile := os.Getenv(envReady)
+
+	self, err := os.Executable()
+	if err != nil {
+		os.Exit(3)
+	}
+	cmd := exec.Command(self)
+	cmd.Env = childEnv("grandchild")
+	// Own process group, mirroring how real backends are spawned, and discard
+	// std streams so the grandchild doesn't keep any parent pipe open.
+	cmd.SysProcAttr = &syscall.SysProcAttr{Setpgid: true}
+	if err := cmd.Start(); err != nil {
+		os.Exit(4)
+	}
+
+	if !waitForFile(readyFile, 10*time.Second) {
+		os.Exit(5)
+	}
+	os.Exit(0) // orphan the grandchild
+}
+
+func waitForFile(path string, timeout time.Duration) bool {
+	deadline := time.Now().Add(timeout)
+	for time.Now().Before(deadline) {
+		if _, err := os.Stat(path); err == nil {
+			return true
+		}
+		time.Sleep(20 * time.Millisecond)
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
+// This spec builds a genuine two-level process tree (test -> middle ->
+// grandchild), lets the middle process die, and asserts the grandchild's
+// watchParentDeath detects the reparenting and self-terminates.
+var _ = Describe("watchParentDeath", func() {
+	It("detects reparenting and self-terminates the orphaned process", func() {
+		if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+			Skip("parent-death watcher is not supported on windows")
+		}
+
+		dir := GinkgoT().TempDir()
+		readyFile := filepath.Join(dir, "ready")
+		exitedFile := filepath.Join(dir, "exited")
+
+		self, err := os.Executable()
+		Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred(), "cannot resolve test executable")
+
+		middle := exec.Command(self)
+		middle.Env = append(childEnv("middle"),
+			envReady+"="+readyFile,
+			envExited+"="+exitedFile,
+		)
+		// Discard the helpers' output; keep the test log clean.
+		middle.Stdout = nil
+		middle.Stderr = nil
+
+		Expect(middle.Start()).To(Succeed(), "failed to start middle helper")
+		// Wait only for the middle process; the grandchild is intentionally left
+		// orphaned. No pipes are shared, so this returns as soon as middle exits.
+		Expect(middle.Wait()).To(Succeed(), "middle helper exited with error")
+
+		// The grandchild must have armed the watcher (and thus captured middle as
+		// its parent) before middle exited.
+		_, err = os.Stat(readyFile)
+		Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred(), "grandchild never signaled readiness")
+
+		// Best-effort cleanup in case the watcher somehow doesn't fire.
+		DeferCleanup(func() {
+			if b, err := os.ReadFile(readyFile); err == nil {
+				if pid, err := strconv.Atoi(string(b)); err == nil {
+					_ = syscall.Kill(pid, syscall.SIGKILL)
+				}
+			}
+		})
+
+		// Now that middle is gone, the grandchild has been reparented; the watcher
+		// must notice and write the exited marker.
+		Expect(waitForFile(exitedFile, 10*time.Second)).To(BeTrue(), "watcher did not detect parent death within timeout")
+	})
+})
diff --git a/pkg/grpc/server.go b/pkg/grpc/server.go
index c4c2785c8..0ed50360f 100644
--- a/pkg/grpc/server.go
+++ b/pkg/grpc/server.go
@@ -939,6 +939,9 @@ func StartServer(address string, model AIModel) error {
 	s := grpc.NewServer(serverOpts()...)
 	pb.RegisterBackendServer(s, &server{llm: model})
 	log.Printf("gRPC Server listening at %v", lis.Addr())
+	// Safety net: self-terminate if the LocalAI process that spawned this
+	// backend dies without running its graceful teardown (see parentwatch.go).
+	startParentDeathWatcher()
 	if err := s.Serve(lis); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -954,6 +957,9 @@ func RunServer(address string, model AIModel) (func() error, error) {
 	s := grpc.NewServer(serverOpts()...)
 	pb.RegisterBackendServer(s, &server{llm: model})
 	log.Printf("gRPC Server listening at %v", lis.Addr())
+	// Safety net: self-terminate if the LocalAI process that spawned this
+	// backend dies without running its graceful teardown (see parentwatch.go).
+	startParentDeathWatcher()
 	if err = s.Serve(lis); err != nil {
 		return func() error {
 			return lis.Close()