X-Message-Number: 12734
Date: Sat, 6 Nov 1999 19:13:51 -0500
From: "Stephen W. Bridge" <>
Subject: Re: Taking your money with you

To Cryonet
From Steve Bridge
Re:       Message #12725
              Date: Fri, 05 Nov 1999 14:59:31 -0800
              From: Bryan <>
              Subject: Taking Your Money With You

>Concerning having your money after cryonic reanimation...
>
>I was wondering why cryonic service providers (such as Alcor and CI)
>can't do more to assist us in this. For instance, if you had a $300,000
>LI policy, $50,000 could go for the costs of neurosuspension. While the
>remaining $250,000 could also be collected by Alcor, and Alcor could put
>it in a separate bank/brokerage account. The account would be in Alcor's
>name. They would technically have full rights/ownership to the money.
>But they could make a good faith and/or contractual promise to use the
>money for the individual's reanimation costs and provide spending money
>for the individual's 2nd life cycle.
>
>It is my understanding that most cryonics providers already do something
>very similar to cover the costs of suspension itself. Although most
>people use life insurance to fund their suspension, some people simply
>pay cash upfront, and then have that money set aside in a segregated
>bank account (owned by the cryonics provider) which earns interest and
>grows with time. If the person ever opts out of cryonics for some
>reason, the cryonics provider promises to pay this money back to the
>individual.

First, Alcor's patient care funds are placed in the Alcor Patient Care
Trust, which is required to use those funds ONLY for the long-term storage,
reanimation, and rehabilitation of the patients.   This cannot include
handing back a portion of that money to the patients.  However, provisions
are in the Trust that once the patients are revived, left over funds could
possibly be used for the charitable care of indigent revived patients.  Who
knows what that might mean in 200 years?

It is my understanding that, legally, the two examples you give are very
different -- and the answers may be different for different groups.  Alcor
Life Extension Foundation is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization.  CI is
non-profit, but not tax-exempt.    I can only speak from my experience as
an Alcor Director and past Alcor President.

Alcor treats prepayment of suspension funding as a "conditional" donation. 
Alcor does not take full ownership of those funds until the legal death of
the donor.  They are placed into a federally insured account of some kind
(usually CD's), and  we do not SPEND any of it until we take full
ownership.  If the pre-payer decides to drop his Alcor cryonics
arrangements, Alcor returns the donation and accumulated interest (minus a
small service charge).   To properly benefit from the ability to retrieve
the donation,  the donor cannot take a tax deduction on it.  Otherwise, if
it is returned to him, he will have to file a revised income tax form for
the year he took the deduction, with penalties and interest likely to be
assessed.

We have also been warned against making any arrangements where we "promise
without promising" to return part of someone's donation in the distant
future after revival.  Under current law, such a return of donation,
especially with the interest generated over the years, would be illegal for
a tax-exempt organization.   Yes, it is possible that the laws might change
in the future; but we cannot make any promises at all.  You are much better
off to go through the trouble of setting up a trust.

With that said, Alcor and its members for several years have been looking
for the best way to put together perpetual trusts that will protect
members' assets outside of Alcor's corporate structure.   Needless to say,
before the cryonics movement came along, lawyers never thought about these
issues and there are no court decisions to rely on (since no one has "come
back" to claim their property). 

I'm sure someone will mention the Reanimation Foundation (set up in
Liechtenstein by Saul Kent and others) as one possible structure for
protecting assets.   As we understand possible solutions better, there
might be other options offered in the next few years. 

Steve Bridge

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