Learn How to Leave a Legacy at Cadbury Event November 12

Have you had the conversation with your family yet? You know…the one about what you will do with all of your personal possessions that are important to you and will be important to your family someday? Well, now is a good time to get the dialogue started to avoid misunderstandings and hurt feelings down the road.


To get you started in your legacy journey, Cadbury at Cherry Hill, a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) in Cherry Hill, N.J., will host a “Legacy Event” with expert Margit Novack, on Wednesday, Nov. 12, at 11 a.m., at Cadbury at Cherry Hill (2150 Route 38 in Cherry Hill). Novack, president of Moving Solutions in Wynnewood, Pa., will present an informative session on how to prepare and leave a legacy for family members.

We all have personal belongings to which we’ve grown attached: a special book, photographs, a baseball glove or a special dish we’ve used for holiday dinners. But what happens to these meaningful items when we die? Who decides who gets what? Parents are hesitant to discuss the issue because they don't like to think about being gone, and their children may not want to bring it up because they don't want their parents to think that they are just waiting for them to die so they can get their possessions. But, a lot of pain and heartache can be avoided through advance planning.

“Passing on personal possessions is an issue for everyone. Either you plan ahead for what will happen to your things after you pass away, or someone will make the decisions for you,” said Novack. “Among the items we pass on, we all have personal treasures, things that have special meaning to us alone. These personal treasures may be valuable or ordinary; what makes them special is the story.”

Novack’s legacy program, based on the workbook Who Gets Grandma's Yellow Pie Plate by the University of Minnesota Extension Service, explores the sensitivity involved in decisions about personal belongings. Different belongings have different meanings to different individuals. How do you determine what's "fair"? How do you avoid conflicts, and how do you manage them if they arise? Novack will engage the audience with a unique form of voting that illustrates how complex these issues are, and how there may not even be agreement within families.

Attendees will gain insightful information about the following:

• Learn a manageable step-by-step process in dividing heirlooms to help defuse emotional   situations and avoid family conflict.
• Remembering “precious” items, both valuable and invaluable, that may have poignant meaning for family members. Novack will share her personal stories and ask attendees to do the same.

“Ironically, amidst all of our concern about passing on possessions, the valuable things we have to pass on may be our stories, both funny and serious, that tell about our lives, our passions and our relationships. So, in a way, the program goes full circle, from the tangible to the intangible, from the material to the personal.”

Following the talk, the talented culinary staff at Cadbury at Cherry Hill will prepare and serve a delicious lunch.


To RSVP, please call (866) 718-5603 by Nov. 10.