When does the division of proceeds happen if a matrimonial home is sold while a divorce is still ongoing?

Selling the matrimonial home while a divorce is still in progress doesn't require waiting until the divorce is finalized, and it also doesn't automatically mean the proceeds are split immediately or evenly at closing. In practice, sale proceeds are commonly held, often in trust by one of the spouses' lawyers, pending a final agreement or court order on how the overall family property, including the equalization payment owed between the spouses, will actually be resolved.

This is because the sale of the home is often just one piece of a larger financial picture between separating spouses, and dividing the proceeds right away, before the broader equalization calculation and any other outstanding issues are settled, can produce an unfair result if one spouse ends up owing the other money once everything is accounted for. Spouses can agree on an interim division or partial release of funds if there's a clear, agreed basis for doing so, but absent an agreement, holding the proceeds until the larger financial picture is resolved is the more common and cautious approach. Anyone selling a matrimonial home during an ongoing separation or divorce should address how proceeds will be held and eventually divided before the sale closes, not after.