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To: Howlin
Do your own research. There are plenty of transcripts out there and I read everything I could get my hands on during her final struggle for life, and listened to every interview I could. Do a search on Terri Schiavo and trust fund.

Frankly, what possible logic and proof over these many years suggests that Bob Schindler and his wife were greedy grifters who wanted to loot Terri's trust fund for their own benefit and battled with Michael because he stopped them in Terri's best interests? Ha ha ha. The only source of THAT tidbit is...Michael Schiavo.

This I saved about the trial and trust fund: Note that all of this is derived from court transcripts and news investigation, and also could be backed up by pulling the GAL (Guardian ad Litem) report that criticized the court's sealing and subsequent lack of audit and oversight of Terri's trust fund.

Greer, of course, dismissed that GAL AND his recommendations

"....in Nov. 1992... Schiavo sued Terri's doctors for not having diagnosed her physical condition. He claimed it was the likelihood that she was bulimic that led to her collapse, a condition her doctors should have caught.

Schiavo told the six-member jury that he needed money for his wife's future care. He said he was studying to be a nurse "because I enjoy it and I want to learn more about how to take care of Terri."

When asked by his lawyer how he felt about being married to Terri at that point in time, he answered: "I feel wonderful. She's my life and I wouldn't trade her for the world. I believe in my wedding vows."

Asked to explain further, he said, "I believe in the vows I took with my wife, through sickness, in health, for richer or poor. I married my wife because I love her and I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I'm going to do that."

He did not testify that Terri had, years before, told him she wouldn't want to be fed or kept alive "by artificial means." That claim came later.

Following the money

The jury responded to his protestations of love and awarded $1.2 million to Terri for her medical and nursing expenses and $630,000 to Schiavo for loss of spouse. She also received a further $250,000 settlement in a case filed on her behalf against another doctor. After the attorneys received their cut, Terri was left with $700,000 and Schiavo with $300,000. Her share of the settlement was placed in a trust fund and invested in blue chip stocks, U.S. Treasury bonds and a money market account. It was to be managed by a bank and guarded by the court. In April 1993 her assets were valued at $776,254.

Her trust fund remained relatively intact until 1997, when Schiavo hired Felos and others began – with court approval – to dip into Terri's trust fund. Most of it went for legal costs.

According to the St. Petersburg Times, which investigated the matter in June 2001, by April 1998, her money was down to $713,825.

At Schiavo's request, Greer ordered all financial billings sealed, but payments are public record. The SP Times estimated that almost half the trust fund was gone, with only $350,000 remaining.

Greer later approved a payment of $45,007 to Felos, covering a five-month period ending February 2002. Including that payment, Felos had by February 2002, billed for $352,211 from Terri's fund. Other lawyers, too, helped drain the account – in particular, Deborah Bushnell, who received just under $50,000 between September 1993 and September 2001.

It's not certain how much of the money intended for Terri's rehabilitation remains. Felos told the Philadelphia Intelligencer that a few months ago only $50,000 was left. He said the money ran out last July and he hasn't been paid since. Terri's medical care at the Woodside Facility is now paid for with federal tax dollars through Medicaid, he said.

Court records show Felos' fees came to about $400,000, according to the Philadelphia Intelligencer...."
Sources- multiple.

PS: No word yet on how many billable hours George Felos billed from Terris final funds after spending two weeks hovering over her death bed, probably whispering in her ear about how he was setting her free...
52 posted on 06/16/2005 11:34:12 AM PDT by silverleaf (Fasten your seat belts- it's going to be a BUMPY ride.)
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To: silverleaf
what possible logic and proof over these many years suggests that Bob Schindler and his wife were greedy grifters who wanted to loot Terri's trust fund for their own benefit and battled with Michael because he stopped them in Terri's best interests? The only source of THAT tidbit is...Michael Schiavo.

And the only "source" who say they didn't are the Schindlers.

And you can't avoid the fact that if the Schindlers hadn't brought all these lawsuits, the money would never have had to been paid to the attorneys.

60 posted on 06/16/2005 11:46:03 AM PDT by Howlin
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