How to properly prepare your will could be the final lesson passed from a parent to a child.

Unfortunately, experts say, too often the lesson learned is how not to do it.

“The baby boomers are very keenly aware of the errors their parents may have made, which were largely due to their hesitancy to talk about money and to address the matter holistically,” says Viktor Szucs, a certified financial planner at Quest Capital Management in Dallas. “They ought to be more apt to put this issue on the front burner and to address their estate planning more proactively in this area than their parents.”

Experts offer the following tips for making sure your will doesn’t cause problems after you’re gone:

Talk about it: Tell family members what you’re leaving them and why, so there are no surprises.

Trust: Consider creating a trust to administer your inheritance.

Be fair: This doesn’t necessarily mean an equal split, if one child cared for you while another did nothing. The goal is for everyone to agree that fairness was achieved.

No contest: Consider giving all parties at least something. That way, a “no-contest” clause can threaten to take it away from someone who unsuccessfully contests the will.

Remember: Your most valuable possession is the love that binds your family.