<prompt> Human: Quick backstory: While I am a US citizen, I was born and raised abroad. I didnt move to the US until I went to college back in 1999. Since I did not have residency anywhere, I could not get student loans. I went to a state school with some scholarships and was able to get my degree without debt thanks to my parents, an RA gig, and other jobs. But thats beside the point.My wife and her 3 siblings all took out student loans. Her parents are going through some tough times right now, and claim that they are paying something like 800mo towards their kids student loans. This kind of puzzled me, as I thought that student loans were given to the students, and not the parents i.e. my wife still owes some 10K on her undergrad loans. Her parents are asking for help, and given that my wifes siblings are not in a position to help two are broke, one is unwilling, its mostly falling on our laps.I guess my question is: is it customaryrequired for parents to also take out student loans? I love my in-laws, theyre very nice people, but I want to completely understand the situation while forming an actual plan to help them out. This upsets my wife tremendously, but I told her I dont want to send them money if theyre in a position where it makes sense for them to declare bankruptcy, as thats akin to using buckets of water to put out a forest fire. Their house is falling apart, and I know they took a line of credit on it back in the day. I have no idea how much they still owe on it.Also, I think they consolidated all the student loans, so federal hardship programs are not likely an option. Thanks for your help!Assistant: Sounds like parent plus loans. I wouldnt say its customary, but its not uncommon. Assuming they are parent plus loans, in no way is your wife legally responsible for them. And even if they filed for bankruptcy, its nearly impossible to get student loans discharged.If you want to help pay for loans her parents took out for her education, I think that would be very nice and not unreasonable. I dont think its fair to you guys to pay for loans they took out for her siblings education, especially the one who is able but just unwilling to help.Human: We know that our credit is not on the line here. Were glad to help as a commitment to family, but to be pragmatic about it, I need to know exactly whats going. I come from a family where were all very direct about money, and dont hide anything from each other. My wifes family is a little less direct, which is something that will have to change in order for this to be taken care of. Once the cards are on the table, I think it will be easier to get the other siblings on board.  <response>: If you help the parents financially, I think its completely reasonable to have information about their financial situation. Make that a requirement of helping. If the parents werent asking for help, then I see no issue with keeping their finances private. But if you get involved especially by their asking then its your business too.Of course they might not agree and even if they dont your wife still might want to help them, but thats a different issue. 