Use genuine borrowing, transfer and transaction records that show the money’s path and actual commitment.
Avoid a missing link
An approved credit amount is not proof that funds reached or became committed to the enterprise.
Collect the relative's statements covering each disputed payment, the invoices and receipts they settled, a written declaration of the arrangement, evidence of the relative's own lawful source, and the investor's records showing reimbursement or the funds' origin. Where records are thin — an older asset, a private buyer, a closed account — say so early; missing pieces can often be supplemented with accountant letters, tax documents or bank certifications rather than abandoned. The business stack shows what the money is buying and that it is a genuine going concern: three years of financial statements if available, tax returns, the payroll register, customer contracts, supplier agreements, the premises lease, licences and permits. Gather the property deed, acquisition record, mortgage payoff, sale contract, closing statement, co-owner allocation agreement, tax records where relevant, bank statements for every transfer, and the business purchase or escrow documents. Where funds sit in escrow, the escrow instructions themselves become important: conditions that permit return to the buyer keep the money out of the analysis, and everyone involved should understand that before the closing structure is fixed.