I too am sorry for the loss of your husband.
I trim the batting and backing to the edge of the quilt top. I cut my binding at 2.5", and when sewing to the front of the quilt I experiment a bit to be sure the binding will be full and just cover the seam when turned to the back. (I rarely have points at the edge of the quilt, so this approach does not cut off any points if the seam is a skosh more than 1/4".)