Cloning Yourself - a Scenario

[CarolinaDude]

Imagine a guy - a rather strange guy - with a lot of money stored away in a Swiss bank account. He has no family, no friends, nothing. He's about to die, and he has no idea what to do with his money.


So he clones himself.


When the clone grows up, would the government/bank legally recognize him as the owner of the account and grant him access?

[Thunduhbuhlt]

Yes, because as far as the government is concerned, he is the dead guy's son. As long as he gets a social security number and birth certificate it should be fine, I don't see why not...

[Tyberz]

Since a clone is in a sense a twin, I believe that he (the clone) would be the sole blood relative, therefore he is the sole heir and owner of the deceased "original's" estate.

[ImCoolBeans]

The clone would have identical genetics, so yes, he would be a living "relative". As weird as it may be, he is a blood descendant, just in a bit of an unconventional way.

[CarolinaDude]

That's what I was thinking! (We were having a debate about this in class.)

My argument was basically what you all said, but I think my teacher (and basically the rest of the class) was trying to be philosophical or something. He was asking me, "If you had a clone, is it really YOU?" and went on along those lines. He brought in the fact that the clone's personality would be different, which I acknowledged, and some other ideas. I said, "Either way, the clone is still legally, genetically, me."

And then, of course, his reply was, "But it's not YOU!"

Ugh. Sorry, I'm rambling lol.

[PerpetualImperfexion]

Well he could definetly leave all the money to his clone, even if they didn't consider him a relative. And your teacher is right. The way we act, think, and develop goals is based on what happens to us. In other words we are blank pieces of paper written on by the pencils of our experiences. If the clone has different memories he certainly isn't you. But what if you shared memories?

[ShatteredWings]

The clone is not the person, but an identical twin (born significantly later) of the person.

I suppose they'd be a blood relative, yes.

[Electra Heart]

I guess, still a "blood" relative.

[Amaryllis]

If the clone is the same age, has the same brain, body, everything. And he's dead. Then sure, that's him. Do you really think the bank or government cares who you are as long as you're an asset to them and you have money?

If the clone's a baby and he's still alive then no. It'd be like having a child with your sperm and egg. But I don't see the problem here. Just leave all your inheritance to your clone.

[Mortal Coil]

In the scenario, yes the clone is you. Just because you do not share a consciousness and a personal history with your clone does not mean that they would not be recognized as the owner of the bank account.

[Erasmus]

ya, i would think so, because it's almost like he's the dead guy's son, so he would get the money!

[Gordo]

whats the clone going to live on until he grows up because there aren't any other blood relatives to look out for him?

[Sugaree]

whats the clone going to live on until he grows up because there aren't any other blood relatives to look out for him?

Foster home probably. But that's not part of the question. Would the government still recognize the clone as a person? If a proper birth certificate is in place along with other legal documents (social security, etc.) then yes, the clone is basically a blood relative.

[ShatteredWings]

In the scenario, yes the clone is you. Just because you do not share a consciousness and a personal history with your clone does not mean that they would not be recognized as the owner of the bank account.

It doesn't work that way. Or identical twins would be considered the same person.