Buying a family member out of a shared property inheritance

[Alexander Straffin]

Hello all,

My brother and I inherited some land in Vermont from our late grandmother. We have come to a verbal agreement as to how I am going to buy him out of his share.

The deal is that I will pay a sum of money on a note that he holds tied to another asset over the course of two years, and when complete we will execute a quitclaim deed assigning full ownership to me.

I am looking for advice about formalizing this agreement in the best way possible so we are both bound to the terms of the agreement.

Is there a standard for this type of transaction? I can find the legal boilerplates and can get some assistance in properly executing the agreement, but I am not sure where to start. We would like to avoid involving lawyers if possible.

Any guidance with regard to the type of agreement we should use would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!