Fifteen Years to Live By Lewis J. Walker, CFP(R)

Suppose you were told by an unimpeachable source that you only had 15 years to live?

In First Isaiah 38, God instructs the prophet Isaiah to tell King Hezekiah of Judah to put his house in order as he was about to die. Distressed, the king prayed ardently to the Lord. God again spoke to Isaiah with another message for Hezekiah: “Thus says Lord, the God of your father David, ‘I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you. In three days you shall go up to the Lord’s temple; I will add fifteen years to your life.’”

Think about that. If you received the same message, a reprieve after a life threatening occurrence, or just certainty of 15 more years of mortal life, what would you do? What would you change? Add? Subtract?

One woman, a dear friend, laughed and said, “I’d tell my family, my husband, my adult daughters, and my friends, stand back! Get out of my way. I am going to do all of the things I have always wanted to do but never have!”

Resolving to make the next decade and a half more fun, more meaningful, more fulfilling is one approach. We don’t have prophets delivering messages directly from Our Creator. God communicates in different ways, informing us that we don’t know the hour and day of our passing. Of those that received a terminal diagnosis from a doctor, dear friends and clients, many are still here, cured or in remission due to medical advances. There’s always hope of a reprieve.

Back to 15 years. Initially God told the king to get his affairs in order. That’s good advice. What’s on your “to-do” list? Draft or update will, trusts, powers of attorney for assets and health care, advance directive, beneficiary designations, instructions for family and other loved ones? Have “the conversation”...adult children with aging parents, aging parents with your adult children and potential caregivers. Organize data so key persons know where your stuff is.

Would you work harder for 15 years to leave survivors in better financial shape? How would you reorganize your assets and your investment allocations? Would you take more risk, or less? Pay down debts?

Would you take more time to love and care for those who love you? Would you be “less busy” at times to enjoy the companionship of children, grandchildren, friends? Would you travel to places on your bucket list still in the “someday” category?

Would you pray more, spend more time in your House of Worship? More generous with time, talent, and treasure? Read the Bible so that 15 years from now when God asks, “Did you read my book?,” you have an answer.

How old are you now? How old will you be in 15 years? Same question for your spouse? Children? Parents? What challenges, positive and negative, will you and those important to you potentially face in the next 15 years? For each challenge, what are the best alternatives to meet challenges? What resources are available to power desired alternatives? Lastly, what outcomes do you want to see? Where do you want everyone to be on the day when your lease on life expires? Knowing how fast 15 years will fly by, what will you start to change? What is your plan? Will you write it down and track progress? Engage advisors—spiritual, financial, legal? If you own a business, what is your “15 year succession plan?”

The reality is, whether you have 15 hours, 15 days, 15 months, or 15 or more years left, you should contemplate the questions raised. A father and son from Texas at the end of a European family vacation are watching fireworks in Nice, France...gone in a heartbeat, run over by a terrorist in a truck. In 2015, approximately 38,300 people died in traffic accidents in America, roughly 105 per day. About half of all fatalities were relatively young people under age 44.

Dealing with heavy questions is a drag, akin to planning for a root canal. But they are important questions. Better for you to answer them and take action than to punt to loved ones at a time of grief and confusion.

God knew King Hezekiah would make wise choices with the gift of fifteen more years. You should do no less!

Lewis Walker is a financial planning and investment strategist at Capital Insight Group; 770-441-2603. Securities and advisory services offered through The Strategic Financial Alliance, Inc. (SFA). Lewis Walker is a registered representative and investment adviser representative of SFA which is otherwise unaffiliated with Capital Insight Group.

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