We provide this free financial resource to visitors of the Community Room of SeniorSSuperStoreS in an effort to keep baby boomers, seniors and the elderly informed of matters that can affect their lifestyle.

The 9/11 tragedy has prompted more people to face their own mortality, the possibility of unexpected death and the need for estate planning.

Despite the proliferation of will kits and online forms that are supposed to make will preparation easy, experts are telling people to go to a lawyer - their own lawyer - to have a will drafted.

Perhaps the most disheartening aspect of families preparing for the inevitable is that of quarrels over the distribution of property. Many books address estate planning from a tax-savings point of view, but not many speak to the issue of saving families.

Your trusted family lawyer should give practical advice on drawing up a will, appointing executors, organizing personal affairs and possessions so relatives aren't at each other's throats, and avoiding unintentional inequities.

Sometimes family relations are already strained. But you risk making things a lot worse by not anticipating problems and discussing your plans while you're alive.

Some parents, however, find it difficult to talk with their children about death, and some adult children hesitate to broach the topic because they don't want parents to think they're after their money.

But communication is crucial. If, for example, a parent decides to leave more to one child than another or cuts a child out of a will, many lawyers advise leaving a letter or videotape in which the parent explains the reasons for his or her decision.

If a challenge is anticipated, lawyers suggest attaching a doctor's letter attesting to mental competency at the time a will is signed.

Some lawyers have even coined a term, "unintentional inequality," when parents think they're being fair - but unintentionally distribute their estates inequitably, setting up conflicts between heirs. One example: a parent who leaves a coin collection valued at $10,000 to one child and $10,000 in cash to another child. Over 20 years or so the coin collection may have appreciated and be worth considerably more than $10,000, while the cash inheritance remains static.

Therefore, people need to review their wills frequently - at least once every five years - and more often if family circumstances change.

Second marriages can also be a treacherous area when it comes to inheritances unless the deceased has clearly spelled out his or her intentions in a will. For example, one of the partners in a second marriage dies and leaves everything to the surviving spouse with the understanding that when the spouse dies, he or she will provide for the children of the first marriage.

But that doesn't always happen. Sometimes the spouse leaves everything to his or her own children, leaving one set of kids without the antiques that have been in their family for generations, their dad's war medals or a stake in a business a parent may have worked a lifetime to build.

While planning ahead won't eliminate all possible family conflicts over inheritances, lawyers say it should at least minimize the risk of inheriting family turmoil along with the heirlooms.