Both deeds and wills are legal documents. Both must be signed and notarized in order to be admissible in court. During the sale of a home, deeds are often filed through an attorney, title firm, or real estate agency. The same is true for wills. A will is usually written up beforehand with ideas for who should get what. These can be general principles such as "those who love me should be taken care of" or specific instructions on how someone should be treated if they're a particular kind of relative or friend. Will writers often include examples to help people understand their intentions - for example, one might specify that money should be given to a child who needs it rather than being held in trust for education purposes. A will can also contain directions about what should happen after you die. These may include directives about who should act as executor of the will (the person who writes it can be named specifically or left up to others), what should be done with any property that isn't distributed according to the will, and so on. Directions about trusts are part of the will too - these are deals where someone manages your financial affairs while you live and then transfers certain assets into them when you die. Trusts can be created for many reasons including avoiding probate, maintaining privacy, and benefiting children by providing them with resources they can access later in life.