Matchmaking fee for a shidduch arranged by two matchmakers

Shalom.

A shidduch was finalized through two shadchaniyot: the first sent the résumé and coordinated between the sides, and the second continued the entire process. How should the shadchanus fee be paid?

Shalom u’vracha.

One third to the first and two thirds to the second.

Siman 185, se’if 6, Pe’at HaShulchan there, se’if katan 3, explains at length that there are three stages in a shidduch: the proposer, the closer, and the one who conducted the negotiations. The proposer is the one without whom they would not have thought of the suggestion at all; the closer is the one without whose actions the shidduch would not have been completed, and each of these is worth one third of the “weight” of the shidduch. However, this depends on local custom, and the custom is that the proposer receives one third and the closer two thirds. This is logical, since the closer took two out of the three parts of the shidduch. It should be noted, as the Gaon there writes, that shadchanus or brokerage fees are required according to Torah law either under the law of a hired worker (in a case where the parties came to the shadchan to ask for help) or under the law of “one who goes down into his fellow’s field” (in a case where the shadchan made the suggestion on his own initiative).