Not a lawyer here, but at some point they really ought to drop a few bucks on one to make sure things are done properly. There's something rattliing around in my gin-soaked brain about the "Statute of Frauds" and the requirement that everything regarding the transfer of real estate has to be written.

I tried to warn my brother at the time that there would be tax implications; however, it didn't sink in. He was only focused on finding a way to help his son purchase the house in the absence of traditional financing. He now realizes the error of his ways.