The funny thing is nowadays if you want your kid to come out of school with less debt disowning them is probably a pretty solid strategy. Either way the kid's

The funny thing is nowadays if you want your kid to come out of school with less debt disowning them is probably a pretty solid strategy. Either way the kid's gonna have debt but if the school/government thinks you're supporting the kid they'll take your money first whereas if they think the kid's on their own they'll give them financial aid first which preserves your ability to write a check 4yr later and wipe out a lot of that debt. Kicking your kid out of the house at 18 well enough to satisfy financial aid requirements is a hard thing to do though.