PROVO — W. Craig Judd, a financial planner and one of the speakers at last week's BYU Campus Education Week, said if seniors want to have a successful mission, they need to start putting everything in place early.

Couples need to decide what will happen to their home, how they will safeguard their health and how the finances will be handled, Judd said. They need to start walking and exercising on a regular basis.

There are many practical matters to consider along with the spiritual ones.

"Guess what people's goals are?" Judd asked his audience after he explained that he had interviewed 500 families in the Provo area about their retirement plans. They were, "see grandchildren, serve a mission and travel."

Judd said he is only 44 so he figures he and his wife can plan on serving a mission in 2035.

He said the average couple needs to mark such a target date and when it gets close, let the bishop of their ward know their intentions and plan on between two to nine months lead time to allow for obtaining visas and making other "last-minute" arrangements.

In the meantime, Judd advised interested couples to go to lds.org and download a packet of essential information.

He suggested getting things in order in a systematic way.

When the mission call comes, he said there are three options for dealing with a home while a couple is away: sell it, keep it or live in it.

Selling a home takes time, and arrangements need to be made for storing furnishings and personal items.

Keeping a home means renting it to family or strangers and setting a price. Judd said it's a good idea to budget to replace carpeting and flooring at the end of the mission.

Living in the home by serving a mission in the home area offers the opportunity to see grandchildren's important events and to see physicians who know the specific medical needs.

"You can advise your bishop about your needs when you turn in papers," Judd explained. "And there are so many options."

He said only a few medical problems will prevent serving.

Judd told the audience that aspiring missionaries also must think about how to pay taxes, the mortgage and utilities, and how to make sure repairs can be addressed.

He said couples with a second home or rental properties need to work through who will handle another whole variety of concerns.

In addition, the family of a senior missionary couple needs to have access to vital information such as trusts, wills and insurance coverage.

He said it's critical that people consider what will happen with their investments and taxes if one partner should become seriously ill. He introduced topics such as long-term care and understanding options such as the government's Pension Protection Act.

"Ask questions," Judd advised. "Plan for success."

"And remember," he added, "Hawaii and Nauvoo can't take everybody."

Sharon Haddock is a professional writer with more than 35 years' experience, 17 at the Deseret News. Her personal blog is at sharonhaddock.blogspot.com.

Email: haddoc@deseretnews.com