I've got tenants going through a "seperation" right now that both parties are on the lease, so far they are civil with each other and have remained together in the unit.

So I'd defer to the lawyer.With the caveat that just because your friend would win in court, does not mean there will not be legal expenses of litigation. 

The letter instructed me to send an invoice of money owed and to hold litigation. 

He is currently a civil engineering junior at Georgia Tech and looking for opportunities in both civil and mechanical engineering.

It was denied due to a litigation going on, HOA is suing builder.

I do review the docs before sending things in) the condo association has nearly zero in HOA reserve funds, has a bunch of delinquent accounts, active litigation that the HOA is likely to loose, etc.

I myself have.you then need to put 100% of the purchase price in cash into escrow while you litigate..

Really the only time you would ever have an attorney involved in a vanilla SFR transaction is if it blew up and people are threatening others with litigation .. other wise we never ever speak to an attorney...

I understand the allure of "business on a handshake" but you should have something in writing outlining your agreement in the event of disagreements or you end up in litigation. 

@Andrew Lapham welcome from a reformed engineer (civil).