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It is perfectly legal for a husband/wife, father/mother, brother/sister etc. to purchase a firearm for a close relative so long as all parties involved are permitted to possess the weapon. Example: a father may buy a firearm for his son even though his son is not old enough to buy it for himself.
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Let's be careful here.
There is a difference between possessing and purchasing. Sometimes the requirements differ.
For instance, here in MI it is legal for an 18 y/o to
possess (own) a handgun. That is a state law. But federal law states it is illegal for anyone under 21 to
purchase a handgun from an FFL. So a 19 y/o here in MI could own a handgun but he could not buy it.
So the obvious question is now "how does one come to own a handgun but not purchase it?"
Here in MI, the normal process is through gifting. Dad buys a handgun, Dad then goes to the sheriff's office and has the gun's registration (it's called a safety check here in MI) transferred to 19 y/o Johnny. This is kosher. What is NOT kosher is if Johnny gives Dad money to buy the handgun and Dad goes and buys the handgun and then transfers it to Johnny. This is a straw purchase. Even though Johnny is able to possess a handgun.
It would also be illegal (here in MI) to gift the pistol to Johnny if Johnny is under 18.
Here is where it gets strange. If you're not an FFL, it is totally legal for 19 y/o Johnny to buy a handgun from you here in MI. As long as you're not an FFL. This is state law. He just can't buy it from you if he is under 18.
All previous examples apply only to MI law (I think I covered them all anyways, but making a blanket statement here).
I am not a lawyer, but I did sleep at Motel 6 last night.