Quote:
Originally posted by Gyrl7
Hmmmmmmmmm, I wonder if he would be entitled to any of her money since it's clear that he has a new love at this point he's comitting adultery because he's still married to Terri.
To the Legal experts of GC how does something like that work....I guess my questions are
1. Since Terri is still alive and he has someone else isn't he comitting adultery??
2. Is he entitled to any of her insurance money or any other belongings since she is in a vegetative state and do they already considered him a widower???
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As I am a second year law student I definitely would not call myself a "legal expert", but as I am currently taking family law I think I can tackle these questions.
1) Yes, Michael is an adulterer. But that pretty much matters NADA. He doesn't lose his rights as her next of kin because he has "relations" with another woman. If that were so, Bill could never sign anything for Hillary (you get my drift). The adultery would only be relevant if Michael wanted a divorce (which he does not). But even in the event of divorce that would only matter if Florida were a "fault" jurisdiction, which I don't know if Florida is or not, but I highly doubt. But again, the fault no-fault distinction pertains to divorce, alimony and property distribution so it’s not really at issue here anyway.
2) If Michael is the beneficiary on Terri's life insurance then yes, unless FL has some law saying the person requesting life support removal can't collect, then he is entitled to her life insurance. However, as far as I know that has nothing to do with him being her husband or not- just who she named as beneficiary. Also, I highly doubt Michael is motivated by money. The family and some right to life organization offered him $1 million dollars to relinquish all rights and sign over power of attorney and he rejected. He maintains that Terri asked him to let her die if she was ever brain dead/severely brain injured and that the only way he can protect her desire is to remain her husband (and therefore keep power of attorney). It could be an act, but I highly doubt that if he turned down $1 million dollars he is after her life insurance which is probably more like $250,000.
ETA: He is not a widower until she dies. Also, I did a little research and have discovered that Terri Schiavo does not have a life insurance policy. There is no financial reward for Michael in his current position regarding Terri's life/death. Years ago he won a malpractice award based on the poor care that Terri received after the auto accident which arguably caused her vegetative state, but the award to him was not large at all. He got $300,000 for loss of consortium (no longer being able to have sexual relations with his wife) and approx. $700,000 was awarded to a trust for Terri's medical care. Michael could not access this money, the mony was governed by a third party and was to only be used for Terri's medical care. That money has LONG since run out.
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