What happens to the money at closing?

The order money moves

The buyer's money and loan arrive at the title company, not with either of you. From there, the escrow officer pays the lenders whatever their payoff statements say, then the commission and the other costs of sale listed on the settlement statement. Anything left belongs to the sellers. It's disbursed only according to written instructions that the sellers sign, which in a divorce means both of you if you're both on title.

No one can quietly redirect it.

A second loan, a home equity line or any other lien recorded against the house gets paid in that same first step, before a single dollar reaches either of you.

Holding the proceeds until it's settled

You don't have to divide the money on closing day. If the property settlement isn't finished, your attorneys can arrange for the proceeds to be held, for example in an attorney's trust account, until your written agreement or a court order says how they're split. If divorce papers have been served, ask your attorney how the restraint in ORS 107.093 on disposing of property applies to the cash from the sale.

Give the title company those instructions well before closing. A last-minute change slows everything down.

What I do and don't control

I don't hold or send any of the money. I make sure both of you get the same preliminary settlement statement, the same closing date and the same contact at the title company, so that each of you, or each of your attorneys, can give instructions directly and check the figures line by line before signing anything.

For the order in which costs come out, see who pays the commission and closing costs? For what to do with the paperwork afterward, see the guide on after closing.

Ask me anything on the statement.

Questions for your attorneys

Before closing, ask your attorneys a few practical things. Should the proceeds be split on closing day or held, and if they're held, where, and who has to sign to release them? Are any credits owed to one of you, such as reimbursement for repairs or mortgage payments, and are they written into the instructions?

Do it early. Both of your attorneys may want to review the same draft of the closing instructions, and the title company needs the final version in hand before the closing date, not on the morning of it.