Estate attorneys are full of creative strategies for protecting your rich clients’ assets from lawsuits. Here’s one they probably haven’t tried: adopting the girlfriend as a daughter.
Polo mogul John Goodman adopted his 42-year-old girlfriend Heather Hutchins last October after he was sued for wrongful death in an alleged drunken driving accident. That accident killed 23-year-old student Scott Wilson, whose parents filed the lawsuit.
Did he just want her to call him daddy? The Wilson’s attorney doesn’t think so. He says Goodman wants to use the adoption to protect his fortune from the lawsuit. Goodman’s adoption papers entitle Hutchins to at least a third of his estate, and the judge on the case has already ruled that money in two trust funds Goodman set up for his biological children can’t be touched by the Wilsons.
I wonder how Goodman's kids feel about having a new sister.
Check out NineMSN for the rest of this bizarre story