The dangerous question is not, “Do I have paperwork?” It is, “Does each document do the job I think it does?”
A contract can prove agreement without controlling disposition. An advance directive can govern medical care without automatically controlling remains.
A will can record intent without supplying money. Funding can exist while the beneficiary, amount or transfer mechanism is wrong.
The reliable checklist is therefore functional. Each document should close one specific failure mode, and the set must work under the law where it will be used.
There is no universal five-document rule
Document names travel badly across borders. “Advance directive”, “power of attorney”, “anatomical gift” and “last will” can carry different powers in different jurisdictions.
The useful invariant is the job:
- establish the provider relationship and informed consent;
- create a valid route for disposition or body donation;
- authorise someone to act when you cannot;
- authorise long-term custody and care;
- make funding available at the required time;
- make the entire set discoverable during an emergency.
One document may perform several jobs. Several documents may be needed for one job.
1. The provider agreement
The biostasis agreement defines the service, responsibilities, consent and conditions between you and the provider.
Tomorrow.bio’s current member documents page says its Biostasis Contract includes a Support and Research Agreement plus a last will concerning body donation.
That agreement is necessary for Tomorrow.bio to act. It is not, by itself, a universal command to hospitals, relatives or public officials.
Release and disposition still depend on applicable law, the person with authority, and any medical-examiner jurisdiction. See the US legal framework.
2. The disposition or anatomical-gift instrument
This is the document that answers: who may receive the remains, for what purpose, and under which statutory route?
The correct form depends on the jurisdiction and provider structure. A generic statement that you “want cryonics” may not satisfy the relevant statute.
California Health and Safety Code section 7100.1 illustrates the precision required. Written disposition directions must be clear, sufficiently complete and backed by effective payment arrangements.
Other states use different forms, recipient rules and priority orders. A local attorney should check the actual transaction, not merely the document title.
3. The agent appointment and advance directive
An advance directive usually governs health-care decisions while you are alive but unable to communicate. That can help with notification and end-of-life coordination.
Do not assume it automatically controls events after death. Post-death powers depend on the governing law and the words of the document.
California Probate Code section 4683 is a useful example. Subject to the instrument’s limits, an agent may make anatomical-gift, autopsy and remains-disposition decisions after death.
That explicit statutory grant is evidence against casual generalisation. If the law needs to grant the power, the label “advance directive” is not enough.
Give the relevant copy to the agent and physician where appropriate. Make sure the provider can reach the agent, and the agent can reach the provider.
4. The long-term storage agreement
Preservation and long-term custody are different obligations. The storage agreement identifies who accepts custody, what care is authorised and how that care is funded.
Tomorrow.bio publishes a separate Long Term Storage Agreement authorising the Patient Care Foundation to ensure continued storage and make necessary preservation adaptations.
The separation matters because a procedure can finish while custody lasts for an unknown period. The document should survive the handoff between those institutions.
This is also part of the answer to what happens if the operating company fails.
5. The funding evidence
Funding documentation proves more than the existence of money. It must show that enough money can reach the correct party when the contractual obligation becomes due.
For insurance, check the policy status, insured person, beneficiary arrangement, currency, amount and any conditions that could prevent payment.
For trusts, pre-payment or estate funding, check who controls the assets and what evidence releases them. An informal family promise is not equivalent.
Tomorrow.bio publishes its current minimum funding policy and alternative-funding form. The website version current when you act should be checked rather than remembered.
See general funding methods and setting up your funding method.
6. The will
A will can reinforce intent, coordinate estate provisions and reduce factual disputes. It is not automatically the instrument that controls remains in every jurisdiction.
California is unusually explicit: section 7100.1 says disposition instructions in a will are carried out immediately, even before the will enters probate.
That is a state-specific rule. Do not infer it elsewhere without checking.
Tomorrow.bio currently asks members using its template to send the original handwritten or notarised will. Follow the provider’s current instructions and local execution formalities.
The emergency record is operational, not ceremonial
A perfect document that nobody can find behaves like a missing document during the hours that matter.
Keep a one-page emergency record with the provider’s number, membership details, agent contact, funding contact and exact location of signed originals.
Do not put passwords or unnecessary medical data on a wallet card. The purpose is routing, not carrying the entire legal file.
Store originals as the governing law requires. Give controlled copies to the provider, agent, lawyer and relevant family members.
Review the system, not isolated files
Review after moving jurisdiction, changing insurer, changing family status, replacing an agent, updating a legal name, or when the provider changes its forms.
An annual check is a reasonable default. Confirm:
- every name, address and contact is current;
- signatures, witnesses and notarisation meet local rules;
- the provider and recipient named are still correct;
- the documents do not contradict one another;
- funding remains active and sufficient;
- the right people can retrieve the signed set quickly.
Templates are a starting point, not a jurisdictional opinion. Ask a lawyer licensed where you live to review the documents as one system.
This article is general information, not legal advice.
TL;DR: A workable biostasis plan needs current provider, funding, disposition and emergency documents that authorised people can find quickly. Local legal review may still be necessary.
How ready is your plan?
Use this short assessment to find practical gaps in your cryopreservation arrangements.
Loading the interactive tool...
Further reading