Select and instruct escrow before deposits or closing funds move.
Define escrow's actual scope
Ask which funds, documents, title services and filings the provider will handle, and what requires outside counsel or another professional. Confirm fees, authority, release conditions and the process for conflicting instructions. An escrow account does not make a deposit automatically refundable or resolve a disputed purchase agreement. The buyer should understand both the engagement terms and the transaction documents.
Build a closing readiness matrix
List the purchase price funds, buyer equity, lender funding, seller payoff, signed instruments, insurance evidence, technical acceptance and any outstanding conditions. Assign each item an owner and required timing. Identify documents needed in original form or through an accepted electronic process. A complete-looking email chain is not evidence that all conditions have been satisfied or that a participant has authority to release funds.
Use an illustrative failed sequence
Suppose the buyer's equity arrives while a lender condition remains unresolved and the seller expects immediate release. The funds' presence does not settle the contract or loan condition. The team needs written instructions that align the parties and lender before release, rather than assume escrow can decide whose commercial expectation controls. This is a sequence illustration, not advice about a specific provider's duties.
Verify instructions through a known channel
Confirm initial and changed wire instructions independently with a previously verified contact. Do not use a new phone number supplied only in the change message as the sole verification. Retain confirmations and the final disbursement statement. Coordinate title and registry actions with counsel and the lender, and reconcile the closing statement against the acquisition cash model so payments and credits are not counted twice.
Working document to prepare
Prepare a closing-control sheet naming the escrow contact, known verification channel, permitted instruction signers, document requirements, funds expected and release conditions. Record independent verification of instructions without placing sensitive bank details into public status documents. Reconcile every receipt and disbursement with the agreed statement. Include the escalation procedure for conflicting instructions so the team does not assume escrow has commercial authority that was never given in its engagement.
Your next-step checklist
- Define services and release authority.
- Track every funding and document condition.
- Independently verify wire changes.
- Reconcile the final disbursement statement.
Sources & further reading
Primary sources support the relevant facts. Our planning questions and illustrative exercises are editorial analysis; they do not replace transaction-specific advice.
- AOPA aircraft transaction resources · accessed 2026-10-28
- AOPA financing process · accessed 2026-10-28