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WinsighterAcademy

Live training in the business of California probate — taught by Legal Document Assistants who file these cases for a living.

Meet our instructors

California LDA registration teaches you nothing about running the business — and no continuing-education requirement covers getting clients, probate workflow, or estate-settlement mechanics. That gap is the whole reason this exists. Every session is live, recorded, and taught by people whose day job is doing this work in California courts.

Anh Morales

Registered Legal Document Assistant

LDA #238 · Santa Clara County · registered & bonded · English & Vietnamese

Anh prepares, files, and processes court documents with precision — with particular care in sensitive matters like family law. She came to the work from a background in real estate and business operations, holds an MBA in Business Administration, and regularly collaborates with attorneys on document preparation under their direction. Fluent in Vietnamese, she's a trusted bridge for Vietnamese-speaking families navigating the legal system. Attention to detail and a genuine commitment to service are at the heart of how she works.

Eric Morales

Registered Legal Document Assistant · Certified Estate Planner

LDA #256 · Santa Clara County · registered & bonded · English & Spanish

Eric is a registered and bonded Legal Document Assistant and Certified Estate Planner who prepares documents across a range of matters — wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and probate filings — with a compliance-first, detail-oriented approach. He also serves as a Trial LDA, process server, and e-filing court-runner, supporting self-represented clients through every procedural step. He brings an earlier career in IT and operations — including data-center operations at Zoom — that shows up as structure and precision on every case.

Ida Ayvazians

Registered Legal Document Assistant

LDA #2025198005 · California-registered & bonded

Ida prepares court-ready documents for individuals and families across California, working directly with clients so every form is correct, every filing meets court requirements, and every deadline is met. She brings more than fifteen years in legal operations to the work: as a lead paralegal and operations director across several California law firms, she managed family-law caseloads, built onboarding and training systems, and coordinated service of process and court filings. Ida earned her Juris Doctor from Whittier Law School. Detail, compliance, and disciplined follow-through are the heart of how she works.

The flagship

Probate Business Bootcamp

Zero to a business of your own, in eight weekly live sessions — each followed by homework you actually do.

A day in the life of an LDA

What the work actually looks like hour to hour: the first call with a family, gathering documents, drafting, the trip to the clerk, and keeping clients calm. Realistic pacing, realistic caseload, realistic income.

How to start the probate

Opening a case start to finish: who has the right to petition, the will and death certificate, mapping the assets, the opening packet, publication and notice, and getting Letters issued.

The popular probate processes

The routes you'll actually use: small-estate affidavit (§13100), spousal property petition (DE-221), succession to real property (DE-310), Heggstad/§850, and full probate — how to pick, and what each pays.

Dealing with the court

County by county: e-filing quirks, fees and fee waivers, the examiner's probate notes and how to clear them, continuances, and what actually happens at the hearing.

Finishing the estate

Everything after Letters issue: Inventory & Appraisal with the probate referee, creditor claims and the notice window, selling estate real property, the final accounting, the petition for distribution, and closing the case.

The sales channels

Where the work comes from: funeral homes, hospices, estate-sale firms, senior living, realtors, CPAs, financial advisors. The intro scripts, the one-pagers, the follow-up cadence, plus local SEO and your Google profile.

Your supporting cast

You don't do this alone. The probate referee, process servers, publication papers, title and escrow, appraisers, CPAs — and the attorney you keep on speed dial for the moments that call for one.

The legal boundaries

What §6400 lets you do, where the line into practicing law sits, the §6408 disclosures, and the situations where the right move is to refer out. The module that protects your registration.

À la carte

Advanced courses

Shorter courses you can take on their own — useful whether you came through the Academy or you are already a working LDA. Same format: live, recorded, taught by people who do the work.

Full Probate, from A to Z

The whole court-supervised case: the DE-111 petition and Letters, publication and notice, Inventory & Appraisal with the referee, creditor claims, selling estate property, the final accounting and distribution.

Starting Your LDA Business

Eligibility under B&P §6402.1, the $25,000 bond, county registration, entity and EIN, E&O insurance, and business banking — walked through step by step, with the forms in front of you.

Trust / Estate Settlement

Trustee duties, §16060 accountings, Heggstad/§850, distribution. The higher-value book.

Asset Discovery

Finding and valuing what the estate actually owns — property, accounts, unclaimed funds, business interests.

Petition workshops

One-topic deep dives: Heggstad/§850 · Spousal Property (DE-221) · Succession to Real Property.

Not sure where to start?

You'll learn on it

Students practice real cases on the Winsighter Platform — the same software our practicing LDAs file from.

Take a peek at the platform →