Capital Economy, Business and Finance
Can I keep hold of my money if I’m cryogenically preserved? “Revival trusts” are a way to financially support a dead person’s frozen body (or their brain) with the intent that years from now, they can be revived due to advances in medical science. Estate lawyers interviewed by Bloomberg say they’ve received hundreds of requests to set up tax-efficient trusts from people who plan to join the 500 or so who’ve already been frozen. Legal questions abound: if you’re revived, are you the same person? Who holds onto the money? Can you reverse a death certificate? Much like cryogenics itself, the structure of these trusts are a leap of faith. Steve LeBel, a 76 year-old retired hospital executive who wants to be frozen, says he doesn’t want to take the risk of a bank or trust company being a trustee. He’s in talks with the Cryonic Institute, a preservation facility based in Michigan, to double as a trust company. “I believe the ageing process is going to be cured,” he says. And he’s not alone: it’s estimated about 5,500 people are currently planning for cryogenic preservation. They include Steve Aoki, the DJ, and Seth Macfarlane, the creator of Family Guy.
