Estate planning has a reputation as something for the wealthy or the elderly to worry about — a problem for later, for someone else, for another day. One creator’s brush with probate suggests that reputation is badly overdue for an update.
Posting on Instagram as @rushingtoretire, she introduces herself with disarming honesty: “I’m just a regular person who forgot to plan for retirement for 20 years and is now racing to fix it…” According to the video, she shares her personal experience with probate and estate planning, using that experience to encourage viewers to sign up for her email challenge on the topic.
The video doesn’t detail whose estate went through probate or the specifics of what she encountered along the way, but the throughline is clear: navigating that process firsthand changed how she thinks about planning ahead, urgently enough that she’s now trying to help others avoid finding themselves in the same position unprepared. The self-description as someone who put off retirement planning for two decades adds a relatable, unpolished honesty to the pitch — this isn’t a financial professional lecturing from a place of having always had it figured out.
The message reached a substantial audience for the size of her account — 120,200 views on a following of 32,000 — suggesting a lot of viewers, like her, recognize they’ve been putting off exactly this kind of planning.
Framing her own story around a two-decade delay, rather than presenting herself as someone who’s always had a handle on long-term planning, is part of what makes the pitch land — it positions the challenge she’s promoting as a genuine course-correction rather than advice from someone who never needed it themselves.
The appeal of an email challenge format, in particular, lies in breaking an intimidating topic into small, manageable daily steps — a structure that mirrors how she describes tackling her own two decades of delayed planning, one piece at a time rather than all at once.
Why Everyone Needs an Estate Plan, Not Just the Wealthy
Probate — the court process of validating a will and distributing an estate — is something most people only think about after they’re forced to navigate it for someone else, which is often the worst possible time to be learning the basics. Without a will, state law (not personal wishes) determines how assets are divided, a process called intestate succession that can take longer, cost more, and produce outcomes a person never would have chosen themselves.
Even a basic estate plan can make an enormous difference for the people left behind: a will naming an executor and beneficiaries, updated beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance (which generally override a will), and, where appropriate, a durable power of attorney and healthcare directive for decisions made while someone is still alive but unable to communicate their wishes.
You don’t need significant wealth for any of this to matter — in fact, modest estates without clear documentation can end up costlier to settle, proportionally, than large ones with proper planning. Many states offer simplified probate processes for smaller estates, and a growing number of online services and local legal aid clinics offer low-cost ways to get basic documents in place. The hardest part is usually just starting, which is exactly the gap accounts like this one are trying to close.
It’s also worth knowing that a will alone doesn’t cover everything — assets held jointly, in a trust, or with a named beneficiary generally pass outside of probate entirely, which is why reviewing beneficiary designations periodically, especially after a major life change like a marriage, divorce, or new child, matters just as much as having a will in the first place.
If a structured challenge isn’t your style, many state bar associations maintain free lawyer-referral services specifically for estate planning consultations, often at a reduced flat fee for a basic will — a more direct, if less social, path to the same outcome.
You can watch the full video and follow @rushingtoretire on Instagram for more.
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