The role of a closing attorney: What they do and when you need one

Written by Samantha SheltonNMLS 1647301Updated November 2026

A closing attorney is a licensed real estate lawyer who handles the legal side of finalizing a home purchase, and the job comes down to 5 tasks: running the title search, drafting and reviewing the deed and settlement documents, preparing the settlement statement, holding and disbursing the money, and recording the deed with the county. A minority of states reserve that work to a lawyer. Everywhere else, Michigan included, a title company performs the same 5 tasks with no attorney involved, and either way federal rules require you to receive your Closing Disclosure at least 3 business days before you sign.

The detail most buyers miss isn’t whether an attorney is in the room. It’s whose attorney it is. In several states the closing attorney represents the lender, so the person explaining your paperwork owes a duty to the company writing the loan, not to you.

Learn more about the role of a closing attorney, including what they do at each stage, which states require one, and how to tell whether the lawyer at your closing works for you. Earlier in the process? Start with our Home Buying guide.

Key takeaways:

• A closing attorney does 5 things: runs the title search, drafts and reviews the deed and loan documents, prepares the settlement statement, holds and disburses the funds, and records the deed with the county.
• State law decides whether you need one: Georgia’s practice-of-law statute lists 6 activities, and 3 of them, conveyancing, preparing legal instruments, and rendering opinions on titles, describe most of a residential closing.
• Whose attorney it is matters more than whether one is present: in several states the closing attorney represents the lender and owes you no duty to advocate, so your protection is the 3-business-day Closing Disclosure window and your own counsel.

What does a closing attorney do?

A closing attorney examines title, prepares and reviews the instruments that transfer the property, runs the settlement, and records the deed, the 5 mechanical steps that turn a signed purchase agreement into recorded ownership. They are not your real estate agent, who negotiates the deal, and not your loan officer, who arranges the financing. Here is the full scope, and what each piece protects.

Three of those deserve a closer look, because they’re where closings go wrong.

Running the title search

The title search reads the county’s public land records to confirm the seller owns what they’re selling and to surface everything attached to the property: prior mortgages, mechanic’s liens, tax liens, judgments, easements, and breaks in the chain of ownership. Anything it finds gets cleared or insured around before the deed transfers.

The search and the insurance are separate things, and buyers conflate them constantly. The search finds problems; the policy pays for the ones nobody found. Our guide to title insurance and why it’s important covers what an owner’s policy pays for, and how to choose a title company covers evaluating whoever runs the search. Fannie Mae accepts either a title policy or an attorney title opinion letter meeting its standards, though not on co-op share loans, leasehold loans, manufactured homes, or HomeStyle renovation loans.

Reviewing documents and building the settlement statement

Across the deed, the note, the mortgage, and the affidavits, the attorney confirms the legal descriptions match, the names and vesting are right, the payoffs are current, and the settlement statement reconciles to the penny.

You have your own check on that work. Federal rules require the lender to make sure you receive the Closing Disclosure no later than 3 business days before consummation, and if the APR becomes inaccurate, the loan product changes, or a prepayment penalty is added, a corrected disclosure restarts that 3-day clock. Read the CFPB’s line-by-line Closing Disclosure guide during that window, not at the signing table, and check it against our breakdown of closing costs.

Holding and disbursing the money

The closing attorney usually acts as the escrow agent, taking in your cash to close and the lender’s wire, then paying the seller’s mortgage payoff, liens, taxes, commissions, and recording fees in the correct order before the seller nets anything. Getting that sequence wrong is how a “paid off” mortgage stays on title.

Escrow at closing is a different animal from the escrow account that later holds your taxes and insurance, see the role of escrow in home buying. From clear-to-close through funding, the home closing process maps every step.

Who does the closing attorney represent?

Often the lender, not you.¹ In many attorney-closing states the lender selects and engages the closing attorney to protect its lien position, and that attorney’s duty runs to the lender. They will still explain your documents patiently. But if a dispute breaks out over repairs, possession, or a title defect, they cannot take your side.

There is no federal list of attorney-closing states. The requirement comes out of each state’s own definition of the practice of law, plus bar opinions and court decisions, which is why published counts differ, most land somewhere around a dozen. The mechanism is easier to check than the count. Georgia’s statute defines the practice of law to include conveyancing, preparing legal instruments that secure a legal right, and rendering opinions on the validity of titles. North Carolina’s covers abstracting or passing upon titles and preparing deeds and mortgages. Michigan’s statute never enumerates either, which is why title companies close nearly every Michigan sale.

Ask the closing attorney one question in writing, early: whom do you represent in this transaction? Some states allow dual representation with written informed consent and others prohibit it, so the answer also tells you what to expect if the deal gets contentious. Nolo’s overview of the closing attorney’s legal role goes deeper on representation, and state-specific home buying regulations covers how much of this shifts across state lines.

Do you need a closing attorney? 5 situations that say yes

If your state requires one, the question is settled. Outside those states, 5 fact patterns make hiring your own attorney worth the flat fee, and they share a trait: the title, the seller, or the contract is non-standard.

• Complicated or clouded title: An old unreleased mortgage, an encroachment, a disputed easement, or a break in the chain of ownership. A title company can decline to insure around a defect; an attorney can tell you whether to walk. See conveyance in real estate.
• Estate, probate, trust, or divorce sales: When the seller is a personal representative, a trustee, or a divorcing couple, signing authority has to be verified, and getting it wrong voids the transfer. Same with buying distressed properties.
• Land contracts and seller financing: The seller keeps legal title until the contract is paid, and your remedies on default come from state statute. Read seller financing before you sign anything the seller drafted.
• Out-of-state or unreachable sellers: Remote signings, powers of attorney, and foreign sellers subject to withholding rules all add legal steps.
• New construction and auction purchases: Builder contracts are drafted by the builder’s lawyers, warranty language is negotiable more often than buyers realize, and auction sales close fast with limited recourse. Compare new home construction and buying at auction.

Honest counterpoint: on a clean, financed purchase with a cooperative seller, title companies close competently every day, and separate counsel buys comfort more than protection. Skipping it is a legitimate choice.

How to choose a closing attorney

Treat it as a shoppable settlement service and get at least 3 written quotes. When your lender lets you shop for a service, federal rules require it to hand you a written list naming at least 1 provider for that service and to tell you you’re free to choose someone else. The list is a starting point, not an instruction.

Shopping has a pricing consequence. Pick a provider from that written list and the charge joins a group of third-party and recording fees that, together, can’t exceed your Loan Estimate by more than 10%. Pick someone off-list and that 10% ceiling no longer applies. Neither is wrong, just know which you chose.

Two federal protections predate all of this. A seller can’t require you to buy title insurance from a particular company as a condition of selling you the property, and one who does owes you 3 times the title charges. And nobody may pay or accept a kickback for referring settlement business, again at 3 times the charge. Referrals from your agent or lender are normal; referrals with a fee attached are not legal.

Then ask 4 questions before you hire anyone.

• Whom do you represent here? The most important question, and the one most often unasked.
• Is your fee flat, and what’s excluded? Title search, courier, wire, and recording charges are sometimes bundled and sometimes billed on top.
• How many closings do you handle in this county? Local recording practice and transfer tax exemptions are learned, not looked up.
• Who actually attends my closing? On many files a paralegal runs the signing and the attorney reviews beforehand. Often fine, you just want to know first.

The American Land Title Association on settlement practice publishes the policy forms and best-practice standards most providers work from, attorney or title agent. For the day itself, see how to prepare for a home closing. If this is your first purchase, our first-time home buyers hub covers the rest of the sequence.

What Michigan buyers should know

Michigan does not require an attorney at a residential closing. MCL 600.916 makes practicing law without a Michigan license a contempt of court, but unlike Georgia’s and North Carolina’s statutes it never sweeps conveyancing or title opinions into the definition, so title agents close the overwhelming majority of Michigan purchases.

• Transfer tax runs $8.60 per $1,000, on the seller: Michigan charges $3.75 per $500 of value at the state level plus $0.55 per $500 in every county under 2,000,000 population. On a $300,000 Waterford sale that’s $2,250 plus $330, or $2,580, and state law makes the seller liable for the state portion.² See seller-paid closing costs.
• Recording is a flat $30 per document: The register of deeds charges $30 to enter and record a document regardless of page count. An unrecorded Michigan conveyance is void against a later good-faith purchaser who records first, so the last step of the closing is the one that makes you the owner.
• Land contracts deserve their own lawyer: Michigan’s forfeiture statute lets a seller recover possession when the contract expressly provides for forfeiture and the buyer fails to pay or materially breaches, faster than foreclosure, and driven entirely by the contract language.
• Probate, boundary, and lien disputes are the other 3 triggers: Estate sales signed by a personal representative, unresolved lot-line disputes, and old unreleased liens are where a Michigan title company hands the problem back to you. See the foreclosure process and how to handle seller disclosures.

Buyers taking title with someone they aren’t married to should read buying a home with a partner before the deed is drafted. Vesting is easier to get right than to fix.

What can a nonlawyer do at an attorney-state closing?

The CFPB’s Your home loan toolkit describes the national split in three sentences: in most of the country a settlement agent does the closing, in several Western states that person is known as an escrow agent, and in some states, particularly in the Northeast and South, an attorney might be required. North Carolina shows how the line is drawn in practice. The State Bar’s Authorized Practice Advisory Opinion 2002-1, adopted January 24, 2003 and revised January 26, 2012, says a lawyer must provide the legal services a residential closing needs, and that the lawyer must be selected by the party for whom those services are provided.

Source: North Carolina State Bar, Authorized Practice Advisory Opinion 2002-1 (revised January 26, 2012). The permitted tasks apply only to a nonlawyer who does no practice-of-law work.

So the person sliding papers across the table in an attorney state may be barred from answering “what does this clause mean for me.” That question belongs to a lawyer, and the opinion’s selection rule is the reason to ask, before closing day, which party chose the lawyer on your file.

What must an attorney title opinion letter say for a Fannie Mae loan?

Where an attorney’s opinion stands in for a lender’s title policy, Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide B7-2-06, dated October 7, 2026, lists what the letter has to contain. Per the guide, the opinion must:

• Be addressed to the lender and all successors in interest of the lender.
• Carry an indemnity: the attorney covers losses caused by a failure to use reasonable care and skill in examining title and issuing the opinion.
• Provide gap coverage for the period between the loan closing and the recording of the mortgage.
• List other liens and state that they are subordinate.
• Come from an attorney licensed where the property sits who carries malpractice insurance for title opinions.
• Include the coverage normally provided by ALTA Endorsement 8.1, the environmental protection lien endorsement.
• Take no exception to survey matters.

Every item on that list protects the lender. That matches the CFPB’s explanation that lender’s title insurance only protects the lender against problems with the title. Your own protection against an old claim is an owner’s policy, which you buy separately; choosing a title company covers where to get one and what to compare.

How does the closing office protect your wire from fraud?

Whoever holds the money at closing, attorney or title agent, is also who criminals impersonate. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center reported 859,532 complaints and $16.6 billion in losses for 2024, a 33% increase from 2023, according to its 2024 IC3 Annual Report. The report describes a closing scam as business email compromise: in one March 2024 case, buyers received a spoofed email from their supposed real estate agents and wired $956,342 to finalize a closing. That category drew 21,442 complaints and $2,770,151,146 in reported losses in 2024, against 21,489 complaints and $2,946,830,270 in 2023. The report keeps a separate real estate category, which it defines as fraud involving real estate investments, rentals or timeshares; its reported losses rose to $173,586,820 in 2024 from $145,243,348 in 2023.

Source: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2024 IC3 Annual Report, crime type and state tables.

Speed decides whether the money comes back. The same IC3 report says IC3’s Recovery Asset Team handled 3,020 Financial Fraud Kill Chain complaints in 2024 involving $848.4 million in attempted theft, froze $469.1 million on 2,651 domestic complaints and $92.5 million on 369 international ones, and counted a 66% success rate. In the March 2024 case, the buyers noticed the spoofed instructions two days after sending the wire, and $955,060 of the $956,342 was stopped and returned.

• Get the wiring instructions by voice: The National Association of Realtors’ wire fraud guidance says to verify wire instructions either in person or through a call to a trusted phone number, and to confirm by phone with a known number before transferring any funds.
• Treat a change as a warning: The CFPB’s mortgage closing checklist warns that closing funds are tempting targets and that an email with last-minute changes to your payment or wire instructions may be a scam.
• If money already went out: The same NAR guidance says to have your bank issue a recall notice for the wire immediately and to file a complaint with the FBI at IC3, and it ties recovery to timing, advising a complaint within 24 hours and no later than 72 hours. The IC3 report adds that complaints feed the Recovery Asset Team’s freeze requests, so file the same day.

The seller is wired from the same file, which is why the closing office pays liens and payoffs first; when the seller gets money after closing walks through that order from the seller’s side.

What does a Michigan closing file with the county and the assessor?

A Michigan closing sends paper to two offices: the county register of deeds, which records the deed and mortgage, and the local assessor, who has to learn the home changed hands. The title agent or attorney handles the first. Part of the second is the buyer’s job.

The register of deeds checks the format

Michigan’s recording statute, MCL 565.201, sets the form a recordable instrument must take: each signer’s name printed, typed or stamped beneath the signature, signatures in black or dark blue ink, each grantee’s address on a deed, and a blank margin of at least 2-1/2 inches at the top of the first page and 1/2 inch on the other sides. In Oakland County, the register of deeds’ Fees and Forms page shows a $30.00 recording fee that already includes the $4.00 state survey and remonumentation fee, under real estate fees effective October 1, 2016, and requires warranty deeds and land contracts to be tax certified at the Oakland County Treasurer’s Office before they record.

The buyer owes the assessor a form within 45 days

MCL 211.27a(10) puts the duty on the buyer, grantee or other transferee to notify the local assessing office within 45 days of the transfer, on a form prescribed by the State Tax Commission; Michigan Treasury lists it as Form 2766, the Property Transfer Affidavit. Under MCL 211.27b, a late filing costs $5.00 a day after those 45 days, up to $200.00 for a principal residence and $4,000.00 for other property (statute complete through Public Act 114 of 2026). That affidavit is how the assessor learns of the sale. In Michigan, a home’s taxable value is capped while one owner holds it. The year after it sells, that cap comes off and taxable value resets to the state equalized value, which is half of the assessor’s estimate of market value, not automatically half of what you paid. The Michigan property tax calculator estimates that reset bill for an address, and the homestead exemption guide covers the separate principal residence affidavit.

Title agents work under an insurance license

Because most Michigan sales close at a title company, the license that matters at the table is usually an insurance license, not a law license. MCL 500.7317 requires persons acting as agents or solicitors for a title insurer to be licensed in those capacities, subject to the insurance code’s licensing chapter. Ask the agency which underwriter it writes for and whose name is on its license before you send it a deposit.

Transfer tax at other prices

Hypothetical example, not an offer. Michigan Treasury’s State Real Estate Transfer Tax page sets the state rate at $3.75 for each $500, or fraction of $500, of total value, and MCL 207.504 sets the county rate at 55 cents per $500 in a county under 2,000,000 people. Because the tax is collected when the deed goes to record, the title agent or closing attorney normally takes it out of the seller’s proceeds on the settlement statement and pays it with the recording; Treasury’s page notes that a purchase agreement can instead have the buyer cover it for the seller. For example, at these sale prices:

Source: Michigan Treasury, State Real Estate Transfer Tax (SRETT), and MCL 207.504, as published October 2026. Exemptions can lower either tax.

A seller who paid the state tax and later claims a refund has a deadline too: Treasury’s page says to file within four years and 15 days of the sale and to allow 6 to 8 weeks after submitting Form 2796 before calling about its status. Run your own number with the Michigan transfer tax calculator, or the seller net sheet to see it beside the other selling costs.

FAQ: Working with a closing attorney

Here are answers to common questions about working with a closing attorney.

Is a closing attorney the same as a real estate attorney?

A closing attorney is a real estate attorney performing a specific job. Real estate attorneys handle contracts, disputes, boundary issues, easements, and litigation. A closing attorney is retained to complete a single transaction: examine title, prepare documents, run the settlement, and record the deed. The same lawyer can do both, but hiring one for closing does not automatically buy you broader legal representation. Our guide to the home buying process shows where each professional enters the transaction.

How much does a closing attorney cost?

Attorney closing fees are usually a flat charge that appears on your Closing Disclosure under services you can shop for, commonly in the several-hundred to roughly fifteen-hundred-dollar range depending on state, complexity, and whether title work is bundled in. Because the fee is shoppable, ask for a written quote and compare it against a title company’s settlement fee before you commit. Our breakdown of closing costs shows where it sits against everything else.

Can the buyer and seller use the same closing attorney?

Sometimes, but it introduces a conflict of interest. Some states permit dual representation with written informed consent, and others prohibit it outright. Even where it’s allowed, an attorney representing both sides cannot advocate for you in a dispute over repairs, possession, or a title defect. If the transaction has any friction, hire your own counsel, and read negotiating a home purchase for where those disputes usually start.

Do I need a closing attorney if I have title insurance?

Title insurance and a closing attorney solve different problems. Title insurance pays claims arising from defects that survive closing. An attorney reviews your contract, explains the deed and loan documents, and catches problems before you sign. In attorney states you get both by default; elsewhere, hiring counsel is optional but worthwhile on complex sales, estates, or seller-financed deals. Start with how to choose a title company if you’re weighing the two.

Who pays for the closing attorney, the buyer or the seller?

It depends on the contract and the state. According to the CFPB’s answer on who pays closing fees, buyers generally pay the costs of their transaction, but the contract or state law can shift some of them to the seller. A seller credit toward your costs is negotiable, though the CFPB notes the seller will usually ask a higher price to cover it.

How do I find a real estate attorney in Michigan?

The State Bar of Michigan runs a Lawyer Referral Service at (800) 968-0738. Per the bar’s referral page, it matches you with a participating lawyer for a consultation of up to 25 minutes for a $25 administrative fee. Use that conversation to ask whether the lawyer represents buyers on residential purchases, whether the fee for your closing review is flat, and who reviews the title commitment.

Does a buyer have to withhold tax when the seller is foreign?

Usually, yes. Under FIRPTA, the IRS makes the buyer the withholding agent in most cases, and the withholding rate is generally 15%. One exception covers an individual buyer who acquires the home as a residence for $300,000 or less and plans to live there at least 50% of the days it is used in each of the first two years. IRS pages reviewed July 2026.

Who files the 1099-S when a home sells?

The person responsible for closing, which on a Closing Disclosure means the settlement agent named on it, according to the IRS instructions for Form 1099-S. A principal residence sale of $250,000 or less, or $500,000 for a married seller, is not reportable when each seller signs a written certification under penalties of perjury that the full gain is excludable. Without that certification, the closing office files.

The bottom line on closing attorneys

A closing attorney handles 5 tasks that turn a signed purchase agreement into recorded ownership: the title search, document review, the settlement statement, holding and disbursing funds, and recording the deed. A minority of states require one because their practice-of-law definitions cover conveyancing and title opinions; the rest, Michigan included, let a title company do the same 5 tasks. What actually protects you isn’t whether an attorney is present. It’s whom that attorney represents, because in several states the answer is the lender. Ask in writing, use your 3-business-day Closing Disclosure window, and hire your own counsel when the title, the seller, or the contract is anything but standard.

If you’re ready to buy and want the financing moving as smoothly as the legal work, talk to Align Lending. We’ll shop your scenario across our lender network, show you the numbers side by side, and coordinate directly with your title company or attorney. Call 248-506-5727 or start online.

Footnotes:

1. This article is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Attorney licensing, the definition of the practice of law, rules on dual representation, and whether an attorney must conduct or supervise a closing are set by each state and change over time. Confirm the requirements in the state where the property is located, and have a licensed attorney in that state review any document before you sign it. Return to text.

2. Example figures are hypothetical and for educational purposes only; they do not constitute an advertisement of credit terms or a rate quote under federal or state lending laws. Transfer tax, recording fees, attorney or settlement fees, and total cash to close on your transaction depend on the sale price, the county, any exemption you qualify for, and your loan. Consult a tax professional about how a transfer affects your situation. Return to text.

Sources: Closing Disclosure received no later than 3 business days before consummation, and a corrected disclosure with a new 3-business-day waiting period when the APR becomes inaccurate, the loan product changes, or a prepayment penalty is added, 12 CFR § 1026.19(f)(1)(ii) and § 1026.19(f)(2)(ii). Loan Estimate delivered no later than the third business day after application and the seventh business day before consummation, 12 CFR § 1026.19(e)(1)(iii). Written list identifying at least one available provider for each settlement service the consumer may shop for, 12 CFR § 1026.19(e)(1)(vi). Ten percent cumulative tolerance on recording fees and third-party charges when the consumer selects a provider from the written list, 12 CFR § 1026.19(e)(3)(ii). Seller may not require title insurance from a particular title company, with liability of three times the charges, RESPA Section 9, 12 U.S.C. § 2608. Prohibition on kickbacks and unearned fees for referrals of settlement service business, with civil liability of three times the charge, RESPA Section 8, 12 U.S.C. § 2607. Practice of law defined to include conveyancing, preparation of legal instruments, and rendering opinions on titles, O.C.G.A. § 15-19-50; abstracting or passing upon titles and preparation of deeds and mortgages, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 84-2.1; Michigan prohibition on practicing law without a license, MCL 600.916. Title insurance policy or attorney title opinion letter required, with issuing-attorney, indemnification, gap-coverage, and ineligible-transaction requirements, Fannie Mae Selling Guide B7-2-01 and B7-2-06. Michigan state real estate transfer tax of $3.75 per $500 of value, MCL 207.525; seller liable for the tax, MCL 207.523; county transfer tax of $0.55 per $500 in counties under 2,000,000 population, MCL 207.504. Flat $30 fee to enter and record a document, MCL 600.2567. Unrecorded conveyance void against a subsequent good-faith purchaser who records first, MCL 565.29. Land contract forfeiture on nonpayment or material breach where the contract expressly provides for it, MCL 600.5726. Counts of attorney-closing states vary by source because the requirement arises from state statutes, bar opinions, and court decisions rather than a single federal list.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal, financial, or tax advice. Attorney representation, closing requirements, title practice, and transfer tax treatment vary by state and by transaction and should be reviewed by a licensed real estate professional or attorney in your state. Consult a qualified professional about your situation. Program terms and figures shown are illustrative, are not a rate quote or an offer of credit, and are subject to change. Align Lending is an independent Michigan mortgage broker, NMLS #2041154.

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