US man adopts girlfriend
02/02/2012 - 18:49:12A US man has adopted his girlfriend as his daughter.
John Goodman, 48, has adopted long-time partner Heather Laruso Hutchins, 42, in what some critics believe will help to protect his assets in an upcoming lawsuit.
The founder of Polo Club Palm Beach is set to confront a wrongful death lawsuit from the parents of Scott Patrick Wilson, who was killed in 2010, after Goodman allegedly ran a stop sign, the Palm Beach Post reports.
But as his legal third child, Heather will be entitled to a third of the money from a trust Goodman set up for his two children, and should Wilson's parents win their lawsuit they won't be entitled to any of that money.
Goodman has denied the adoption was inspired by the lawsuit.
