X-Message-Number: 11018 From: Thomas Donaldson <> Subject: Escrow accounts and the expense of cryonics Date: Sun, 3 Jan 1999 22:12:08 +1100 (EST) Hi everyone! About escrow accounts: the major problem with such accounts, just as with trusts, etc is that in many US states and many countries there is a limit on just how long the money can be held. After some period, it ends up with some governmental body. Fortunately this is not universal among all countries. However it does cause expense and problems if you happen to live in one of the countries which do this. And it also means that there is NO simple way to provide money for yourself after your revival. As I understand it, Alcor makes a promise that it will provide you with whatever is left after it has suspended you, kept you in suspension, and revived you... if you provide more than the minimum amount. I would not be surprised if other cryonics societies make a similar promise. Because of the problems above, there is no way in which such promises can be given any LEGAL FORCE by a cryonics society domiciled in a country or state which appropriates money as described above. This doesn't mean that such promises are empty. After all, if we recall that no one can promise to revive you in the first place, and your suspension itself depends not on any legal contract but solely on the good will of a cryonics society of like-minded people, the issue of money kind of fades in importance. So long as cryonics societies consist of people who themselves want to be suspended if necessary, they are quite likely to help out anyone they can revive. That's not a statement of law but a statement about psychology. After all, if you want to be suspended, you want your society to be around to keep you suspended. And one of the best ways to ensure that is to do well by anyone whom your society has presently suspended. And of course one of the worst ways to ensure that your society continues is to neglect those who have put themselves under your care. And to Thomas Nord: Yes, cryonics can be expensive, but its expense should be measured not against the price of a new suit but against the price of a house or major medical treatment (if you live in a country where some kind of socialized medicine exists, you may not pay that cost of medical treatment yourself but it still comes from somewhere). I'd be quite interested to know how expensive the suspension to which you refer turned out to be. Best and long long life to all, Thomas Donaldson Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=11018