Chillin' with Ted: The Icy Adventures of Baseball's Coolest Legend--True Stories of How Interesting It Is to Be an Estate Planning Lawyer © Cynthia C. Rignanese, Esquire
Cynthia asks, “Who do you want to leave your assets and money to?”
Male Client replies, “Myself.”
Five years after law school, in the 1990s, I was approached by a client who I was handling his real estate and business law work. I had handled multiple legal matters for him, and I was glad he finally made a meeting to talk with me about his will. His wife was ill. I knew he had two young children. As I entered the meeting, I thought that he would do what 99.99% of married men with kids do in their will – leave their assets to their wife and kids. I was totally flabbergasted when the conversation happened:
Me, “Who do you want to leave your assets and money to?”
Him, “Myself.”
Me, “I do not understand, did you say ‘leave your money to you’ after you die?”
Him, “Yes, I want my will to leave my money for myself, as I will come back and get it.”
I thought he didn’t understand what I was asking. I tried again.
Me, “Sir, my question is not in the present. It is at a future time, when you are dead. Florida law does not allow a person to leave money to himself after his death. Surely you want your wife and kids to have your money, after your death?”
Him, “No, I will be frozen and then when I come back, I will get my money and I will take care of everything.”
He proceeded to tell me about something I had never imagined. He said he wanted his head severed and sent to a cryonics facility in a tiny European country called Liechtenstein (a country I had never heard of, but would later visit in 2016). He said that once science allowed it, his head would be attached to a mechanical body and he would then be alive again. He said he would need his money at that time.
I tried to talk him out if it that afternoon, and in an additional meeting. His wife was ill and unable to work, so I tried reasoning with him and explaining that his wife and his minor children would need the money. He kept insisting that the only will he would let me write for him would leave his money to himself. I refused to prepare this document. I never saw him after that date, and I do not know what happened.
Fast forward a couple of years, and I soon learned that my client was not the only person to think about coming back from the dead after being cryogenically frozen.
Ted Williams' Cryonic Dispute happened! In 2002, baseball legend Ted Williams' children entered into a legal battle over the disposition of his remains. Williams' will specified that his body should be cremated, but he also had a subsequent writing (a legally binding family pact, signed by Williams and two of his kids) calling for his body to be cryonically preserved after his death. Two of his three kids wanted the cryonics. His daughter did not.
Ted’s brain was separated from his body, and both his brain and body are in storage in Arizona. The case highlighted the unique legal challenges surrounding cryonics and the rights of the deceased.
Following the legal dispute surrounding Ted Williams' cryonics case, his body was cryonically preserved at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale, Arizona. Cryonic preservation involves cooling the body to an extremely low temperature, typically below -196 degrees Celsius (-320 degrees Fahrenheit), using a process called vitrification.
After his death, Williams' body was prepared for cryonic preservation according to the procedures practiced by the Alcor Foundation. The intention behind cryonics is to potentially revive and restore the individual in the future using advanced medical technologies.
It's important to note that cryonics is a highly controversial and speculative field, and the concept of reviving a cryonically preserved individual is purely hypothetical at this point. The scientific feasibility and ethical implications of cryonics remain subjects of ongoing debate and exploration. How many persons’ bodies or brains are at Alcor is unknown, as it is a private organization. When Williams’ son died, he also went to Alcor.
The practice of law is never boring. I hope you enjoyed ‘chillin’ with this blog.
If I can assist with preparing your will naming anyone other than yourself to inherit your money, please reach out to ladylawyercynthia@gmail.com or 863.294.1114.
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