Wealthy people freeze themselves—and their fortunes—for future revival

Clients of cryonics companies set up trusts to protect their wealth after death and pay for their potential resurrection.

Although cryonics currently only involves freezing, not resurrection, lawyers for wealthy individuals are already preparing for future possibilities. A new type of service has emerged, focused on preserving clients’ wealth until they can be revived from suspended animation, according to Futurism.

Estate planners are now creating “revival trusts” for wealthy individuals who will be cryogenically frozen after death. If cryonic revival technology becomes feasible, these individuals would be able to access their funds hundreds of years later.

“The idea of cryopreservation has shifted from being seen as crazy to merely eccentric. It’s somewhat of a new trend,” says estate lawyer Mark House.

House works with the Alcor Life Extension Foundation, a cryonics facility that has already served 230 clients. Alcor, believed to be the largest facility of its kind, has about 1,400 clients preparing for cryogenic preservation.

Estate planners require clients to allocate at least $500,000 to cryonics trusts to ensure that ongoing fees do not deplete the accounts over time. As with other trusts, beneficiaries and executors are appointed.

However, there are significant challenges: no one has been successfully revived from cryogenic preservation, and legally, a death certificate cannot be annulled.

To navigate these bureaucratic hurdles, clients are advised to appoint a fiduciary protector—an individual or organization with the authority to decide whether to revive the client.

“Some people say resurrection is only successful if the person retains their past memories. Others are satisfied with a similar clone. There are also those who believe uploading their brain into a computer would suffice,” explains estate planner Peggy Hoyt.

Regardless of the method, these individuals aim to reclaim their property upon revival. Initially, they will need funds to finance the resurrection process, should it become possible.