I think you are more than ready to consult with an attorney. You may very well know more than he or she, since many do not do income tax work. Conversely, most tax professionals do not do fiduciary income tax work. If yours does not, and your attorney does not, ask your attorney to recommend someone who does who can deal with your fiduciary income tax questions as they apply to you.
Note that I thought your summary was correct, including your understanding of some of the specifics of how a bypass trust works. As for your new questions about fiduciary income taxation and treatment of capital gains, you are venturing into an area that is not clear cut, and requires a working knowledge of the income tax regulations as applied to the facts, including the questions that the regulations sometimes do not adequately address. That's why I hedged my answers. Better to dazzle your attorney or tax professional with your general knowledge and give him or her a few hypotheticals that he or she can apply to your situation.
Otherwise, to learn more you will need to learn the terms of art and become familiar with the probate code, tax regulations and other "taxese" for yourself. I'm not aware of a link, but I do wonder how you learned what you have learned so far about all of this. I'm sure that many who find this thread who are in your situation would appreciate some DIY reading material. While some issues deal with community property states, other issues have application to all 50 states.
And, yes, many surviving spouses do not like having to put up with one or more estate planning trusts. They would rather pretend that everything passed from his or her spouse without restrictions. But if there are estate tax or other planning considerations, such as children from a prior marriage, this could lead to expensive consequences later on if the beneficiaries need to patch up a sabotaged estate plan to save taxes or split the assets properly. The person you hire should make these choices crystal clear to you and your spouse.
Finally, I think many of the posters here, including me, would not post unless we could remain anonymous.
Good luck in finding someone near you. Interview many before you make your choice.
Note that I thought your summary was correct, including your understanding of some of the specifics of how a bypass trust works. As for your new questions about fiduciary income taxation and treatment of capital gains, you are venturing into an area that is not clear cut, and requires a working knowledge of the income tax regulations as applied to the facts, including the questions that the regulations sometimes do not adequately address. That's why I hedged my answers. Better to dazzle your attorney or tax professional with your general knowledge and give him or her a few hypotheticals that he or she can apply to your situation.
Otherwise, to learn more you will need to learn the terms of art and become familiar with the probate code, tax regulations and other "taxese" for yourself. I'm not aware of a link, but I do wonder how you learned what you have learned so far about all of this. I'm sure that many who find this thread who are in your situation would appreciate some DIY reading material. While some issues deal with community property states, other issues have application to all 50 states.
And, yes, many surviving spouses do not like having to put up with one or more estate planning trusts. They would rather pretend that everything passed from his or her spouse without restrictions. But if there are estate tax or other planning considerations, such as children from a prior marriage, this could lead to expensive consequences later on if the beneficiaries need to patch up a sabotaged estate plan to save taxes or split the assets properly. The person you hire should make these choices crystal clear to you and your spouse.
Finally, I think many of the posters here, including me, would not post unless we could remain anonymous.
Good luck in finding someone near you. Interview many before you make your choice.