Estate Planning For Those Who Choose Avoiding Death
Once dismissed as fringe science at best, public awareness of cryonics has risen recently, although widespread acceptance remains a distant concept.
The prospect of cheating death through cryogenic freezing in the hope of being resurrected once the requisite technology has become more developed. How this will change the dynamics of estate planning remains to be seen.
Patients Are Chemically Frozen
Referred to as ‘patients,’ these individuals are chemically frozen, encapsulated in cryogenic dewars (specially designed containers), and their death suspended indefinitely.
Although the prospect of bringing people stored in this state ‘back to life’ container would once have been considered outside the realm of possibility, rapid technological advances have brought some real credibility to the practice of cryonics.
Many more waiting to be contained
According to the NY Times, there are now about 500 people stored in vats around the world, the great majority of them in the United States. Many hundreds more people who are still living have signed up for the program but have yet to be vatted.
Cost of cryogenic services
Cryogenic freezing isn’t cheap: full body suspension and storage start at about $35,000 for the economy package. The premium packages can be as much as $200,000 for whole-body cryopreservation and $80,000 for a “neuro” (head-only) option. Imagine having to consider whether to elect the head-only option or go with the full-body option with your estate planning attorney.
Advanced Reservations Only
If you want to have your body cryogenically stored, you must make arrangements well in advance. The success of your preservation will rest in large part in minimizing the natural tissue deterioration that begins to occur immediately upon what is conventionally described as death. A cryogenic team will need to be on alert, and the details of your treatment and storage are planned and financed.
Learn More About Waking Up In The Future
The Cryonics Institute is a non-profit organization made up of people seeking to pursue the possibility of immortality for themselves and their families. Currently, the institute has over 200 people in a cryostasis state.
