I'll mess around with it some more.

What makes it better than anything else?

People sometimes charge in thinking they have to stop messing around and DO SOMETHING!

It seems like an avoidable mess that is causing unnecessary distressPerhaps someone should point out that they don't own any of the rentals yet as they still belong to the dad. 

It is hard to mess up a return if you have just a W-2 and some interest / brokerage accounts.I personally think it is better suited to hire an accountant if you have a rental or a business.One thing you would benefit by having an accountant is that you have someone to ask questions to throughout the year.Best of luck

Same mess.

A Trust can help avoid that mess completely.Curious for the community:-Do you have your rentals in a Will or a Trust?

It is akin to me trying to mess with the structure of my house using a CAD program I downloaded from the internet.

If they accuse you of fraud or anything similar, my guess is that you will have a very hard time explaining and justifying how you were legit in buying a $320k house from someone for $25k while they were in distress and being prosecuted.If this was me, I'd either stay out of this mess entirely or just pay for the attorney as an act of kindness. 

That's messed up.