Baraka_Guru

You're thinking of marrying her. From a financial perspective, you need to take on the mentality of shared finances. Yes, it's her student debt, and, yes, it's your mortgage, but as soon as you tie the knot, this distinction and separation, if maintained, could work against you and your long-term goals.

The advantage of marriage and of living in one household is the synergy that arises out of that. You essentially pool your income, share your expenses, share your tax situation, etc., and everyone (usually) benefits from that. Debt, however, can work against the both of you regardless of whose name it's under.

The sooner you get over the idea of "yours and mine" and into the idea of "yours, mine, and ours," the sooner you'll figure out how best to plan for things down the road.

You need to sit down and discuss these things. (With her, but also, as mentioned, with a financial planner.) You need to decide who is going to play what roles, and how each of you are going to contribute to your shared goals. You need to be on the same page. You're going to be part of the same financial unit. You can come up with plans to "divide and conquer" if you wish, but you both still need to keep each other in the know.

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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot