<p>My husband’s grandmother did lend her son money to buy a business, buy a home and each time has legal papers drawn up. The amounts with any accrued unpaid interest were taken out of his share of his inheritance when she died. </p>
<p>For what a person considers small amounts, that one spends with variation and without meticulous checking for fairness and equality among the children, that might be over kill. I know none of my kids have gotten what I consider outrageous amount of our money to the point where we felt it had to be balanced out what they would inherit from us. But YMMV, as different people look at this differently. But for large amounts, for equality, internal parity, some such provision might be useful.</p>
<p>I think the Student Direct loan is a great starter loan. Student does NOT have repay it while in college. Required repayment starts 6 months after no longer a full time student Not bad interest rates, especially for a someone with no job history and credit history, and flexible repayment terms when down on luck. Can’t get much better. My one son took part of what he could borrow and did pay it back within a year, and learned first hand how difficult it was to do so. I just consider the loan origination fee part of the interest. Also, so many kids have this loan, so it hardly makes anyone an outlier. Even kids from well to do families we know have taken the unsubsidized Student Direct Loan. </p>