Florida businessman adopts adult girlfriend as his daughter

Florida businessman adopts adult girlfriend as his daughter

Published February 01, 2012
NewsCore


A Florida businessman has adopted his 42-year-old girlfriend, it emerged Tuesday, in a civil case which one judge said was taking the court "into a legal twilight zone."

John Goodman, founder of the International Polo Club Palm Beach, legally adopted Heather Laruso Hutchins as his daughter on Oct. 13 in Miami-Dade County, according to court documents cited by The Palm Beach Post.

The unprecedented legal move was exposed in connection with a civil case in which Goodman, from Wellington in Palm Beach County, is being sued for wrongful death over a Feb. 12, 2010 crash that killed 23-year-old Scott Patrick Wilson.

Attorneys for Wilson's parents, who launched the action, allege the adoption is simply an attempt to shield assets.

"The events which serve as the grounds for the relief sought by the Plaintiffs border on the surreal and take the Court into a legal twilight zone," wrote Circuit Judge Glenn Kelley, in an order granting attorneys for Lili and William Wilson the right to information concerning Goodman's adoption.

The civil trial is set for March 27 and Kelley had previously ruled that the trust set up for Goodman's two minor children could not be considered as part of his financial worth if a jury awarded damages to the Wilsons.

Hutchins is now entitled to at least a third of the trust's assets as 48-year-old Goodman's legal daughter, according to the adoption papers.

Dan Bachi, Goodman's civil attorney, said Hutchins' adoption was done to ensure the future stability of his children and family investments.

"It has nothing to do with the lawsuit currently pending against him," Bachi said.


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