My elderly parent's were manipulated into co ...

Hi,

   The court does not care if your parents are elderly and sick.  They co-signed and they are liable to pay if the other person did not pay the bills.

    That's why it's not wise to co-sign for someone even if they are brothers or sisters.

Do you have a good attorney? Or do they have an attorney? You can help them by asking for legal advice in the state where they live? There are a few sites online where you can ask for legal advice, and for a small fee they give you an answer from a qualified attorney practicing the type of law the question falls under.

I don't think they can get out of paying perhaps they can make a deal with the loaner and pay it off and hope a lesson was learned.

They can TRY to get the person to refinance the loan into their own name.  But if they needed a cosigner in the first place, that probably is not possible.

Can they gain possession of the items that were financed?  If so they could try to sell them and use the proceeds to help pay off the debt.

Unfortunately, like others have already said, they are probably stuck with this debt.  Are you, or other family members, able to help them to pay off this debt?  The thought of paying off debt for a person that would do this really sucks, but think of what can happen to your parents if this debt goes to collections.  Or worse yet, they get sued for it.