A Parent Is Ready to Hand Her Daughter $6,300 to Pay Off Her Car — Then Wonders If the ‘Gift’ Could Backfire

2026-09-16 10:17 via finance.yahoo.com

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A parent wanted to help their adult daughter and her long-term partner with their car loan.

They asked the r/personalfinance whether paying down $5,000 and leaving the rest on autopay might be the better move.

She Wants To Pay Off Her Daughter's $6,300 Car Loan

The couple had both spent time in graduate school and still had student loans. The parent said they hated spending money and debt, and considered their daughter's partner like a son to me at this point.

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A commenter questioned whether the original poster trusted them with the money rather than paying the lender directly.

They are pretty solid people and hate debt, OP wrote. I wouldn't have considered this if I thought that would happen.

Then She Worries The Gift Could Hurt Their Credit

Each had a credit card, but neither had a long credit history. I want to help them, but I don't want to hurt their credit scores, the OP wrote.

Commenters questioned whether keeping part of the loan open was worth continuing to pay interest.

It shouldn't 'hurt' either of their credit by paying off the loan early even if it temporarily dips their credit score for a few months, a redditor wrote. Paying it off early is definitely better than paying interest over the remainder of the loan term.

Another commenter said leaving roughly $1,000 on autopay would simply mean paying more interest to keep the account open.

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Should Parents Pay Off Their Adult Children's Debt?

Paying off an adult child's debt can make sense if the parent can afford to help without sacrificing their own financial goals. Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) recommends considering cash flow and other financial priorities before providing that support.

The trade-off can be significant. An Empower survey published earlier this month found that 53% of parents financially supporting children aged 20 or older were dipping into their retirement savings to do it.

When A Financial Gift Deserves A Second Opinion

The parent's question started with the couple's credit, but paying off someone else's debt also means deciding what that money could otherwise do for her.

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AdviserMatch can connect people with financial advisers who can help weigh both sides before the money changes hands.

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This article A Parent Is Ready to Hand Her Daughter $6,300 to Pay Off Her Car — Then Wonders If the 'Gift' Could Backfire originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/articles/parent-ready-hand-her-daughter-203008660.html