My sibling defaulted on student loans and now my parents owe $60k, destroying their plans of retirement.

My sibling always seemed to be responsible so this came as a shock. My dad co-signed the college application, and he’s been getting calls and letters from the bank for months, if not a year, but my sibling always said that they were taking care of the payments. They were just a month behind, a late payment, etc.. My parents were always told that it would be taken care of and they didn’t have to worry.

My parents tried to apply for a small loan to fix their driveway and they were denied. That’s how they found out. My dad’s credit is shot and they are in debt. They had no idea.

Turns out my sibling spends all of their time high, buying weed and edibles. They’re blowing money on tattoos and traveling. Impulse purchases and bad decisions. They put “fun money” before paying the bills. They and their spouse bought brand new cars which got repoed. They’re losing their house and everything they own. At least that’s what they say, but on Facebook they post their travels and go to festivals.

Now my parents owe the bank $60k+. The bank won’t settle and payments are $700/month. My dad was going to retire in a few years. They were working on fixing up the house and their plans of that are shot. They’ve struggled for years and finally got to a good place within the last 10 years.

My parents have tried to reach out to my sibling and they’ve heard nothing. My sibling told my parents that they won’t help pay the student loans before going no contact. My parents said that they wish my sibling had come to them when they were struggling so they could’ve figured out a plan.

I don’t think there’s any way of fixing this situation…. Does anyone else have advice?