Student loans for parents can be a debt trap. But there’s a loophole

Carlos Sanchez of McAllen, Texas, took out an enormous amount of federal student loan debt to make sure his children could attend college.
“As my third child makes her way through her senior year in college, I now have what amounts to about $160,000 in parent PLUS loans,” Sanchez, 63, told NPR. He likely won’t have them paid off (or qualify for debt forgiveness) until he’s in his 80s, “which is an extraordinary journey for me,” he said, given that he’s approaching retirement.
“I’m just hoping to see if there is some relief.”
For Sanchez and millions of other parents and caregivers, that relief could come through a loophole in federal law — a loophole that could help them access a more forgiving payment plan and ultimately shed debts that might otherwise follow them for the rest of their lives.
That is, if they know about it. Few do.
The U.S. Department of Education won’t discuss this loophole. And if a borrower calls their loan servicer and asks about it, the call center worker wi..