However he is offering paperwork from his lawyer so it seems he is covering all his bases which makes me feel more secure.

That one was dismissed by a court, they refiled against me in another court, my lawyer showed them they had been snookered (I had pictures of everything).

My mother has access to communication with the lawyer at hand and she is supportive of me.

My scenario is I have a few colleagues interested in investing their money in real estate with me, while I do all of the work involved (not property management, we have a company for that) but more of all the looking at properties, dealing with the banks, paperwork, lawyers and managing the property management company.

m=1Also looking for a good lawyer in the Fort Worth/Burleson/Mansfield area for deal contracts, lease agreements and eviction processing.

California is a Community Property state, so the implications of divorce or death aren't nearly as significant in non-CP states (but I'm not a divorce lawyer, so please qualify that with your lawyer). * If you've got sufficient equity, start shoving as much debt as possible into as few properties as possible.

I'm not sure if I need to talk to a finance person, real estate lawyer or whom.  

Can you just have a joint venture agreement that fits your needs drawn up by your lawyer? 

Odds are that, in a small town, the local title insurance office is actually a county seat lawyer who provides a number of services in the area.

I'm looking for referrals for a good accountant and lawyer in the Portland, OR area that are knowledgeable about REI.