Dear Ms Wise, my husband and I want to help our only child buy a home. We have more than enough in super, no debt and can contribute about $550,000. We reckon he’ll need $800,000, which would leave a $250,000 gap. He may not qualify for a mortgage on his own as his earnings can be erratic, and he is living with his girlfriend, with whom we don’t have a close relationship. We thought of buying the apartment ourselves and renting it to them, but we don’t want to take on a home loan in our early 60s. How can we structure this so that his girlfriend can contribute, but we don’t lose our $550,000 if they break up? Janine

The wisdom: To protect the $550,000 you are contributing it should be a loan, and not a gift, says Sue Pearson, partner with Pearson Emerson Family Law.