she had a Living Trust. She had 2 properties that are divided equally between my Sister (Trustee/Executor) and me.
What do you mean when you say the "
are divided between" you and your sister? Are the properties titled to the trust or are they in your mother's name? Or have they already been transferred to you and your sister? If they're titled to the trust, what
exactly does the trust says is to happen upon your mother's death?
Also note that your sister isn't "executor" until and unless she is appointed to serve in that capacity by the probate court (assuming probate of the estate, in addition to administration of the trust, is needed).
The question is, can the net proceeds from the sale in Escrow be sent individually and equally to my Sister and me?
As phrased, the answer is yes, but I doubt that's what you intended to ask. What is required/appropriate/advisable under the terms of the trust is impossible for anyone to answer without reading the trust instrument and knowing the details of the trust's and your mother's financial situations (and that's assuming the properties are titled to the trust). Unless your mother had/will have zero debt (including personal and trust tax liability for both 2021 and 2022) distributing any portion of the proceeds of the sales of what are presumably the two most significant assets before the trust is closed out would probably be unwise.
My Sister had "someone" who told her the proceeds had to go into a Trust. Is that correct?
Again, impossible to know without knowing how the properties are titled and what the trust instrument and will say.
I should have disclosed that I am a Realtor. I had sent all of the Trust paperwork to my Title Officer and everything is good to go.
I'm not really sure what this means, but it would be very helpful if you would tell us how the properties are titled.
According to the Trust, we can do what we want with the properties. My Sister is the Trustee and I am the alternate Trustee.
As long as your sister is trustee, you being alternate trustee is meaningless and, if your sister is the trustee, you (plural) most certainly cannot do what you want with the properties (and I doubt that's a reasonable interpretation of what the trust instrument says).
Your sister is the one with all of the obligations and a fiduciary duty to you (and any other trust beneficiaries). If she takes any action with respect to these properties without obtaining appropriate legal guidance, she is a fool.
