A wealthy Florida polo club founder has adopted his longtime
adult girlfriend in what attorneys believe may be a legal maneuver to protect
his financial assets--which he estimates as "several hundred million
dollars"--as he faces a trial for a drunk driving incident that killed a
23-year-old. A Hackensack
Personal Injury Lawyer has been watching the case.
John Goodman, 48, formally adopted Heather Laruso Hutchins,
42, in October 2011. The couple started dating in 2009. Goodman is the founder
of the International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington, Fla.
West Palm Beach Judge Glenn Kelley wrote in a court order
that the twists in the case "border on the surreal and take the Court into
a legal twilight zone."
"The Defendant has effectively diverted a significant
portion of the assets of the children's trust to a person with whom he is
intimately involved at a time when his personal assets are largely at risk in
this case," the judge wrote. An Oklahoma
City Estate Planning Lawyer is curious.
Goodman is being sued by Lili and William Wilson for the
wrongful death of their son Scott Patrick Wilson, who had come home from
college for his sister's birthday, and died in a car crash on Feb. 12, 2010.
According to police, Goodman, who was driving a Bentley, ran
a stop sign and slammed into Wilson's car. Goodman did not call police or an
ambulance, and left the crash scene on foot, police said. It was determined
that Goodman's blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit.
Man Adopts Girlfriend, 42, Before Civil Suit Over DUI Death
Goodman's civil trial is set for March 27 and his criminal
trial for charges of DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide and leaving the scene
of a crash is on March 6. He faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted. A Rochester
NY Personal Injury Lawyer wonders what will happen.
Neither of Goodman's two biological children have reached
the age of 35, the pre-determined age at which they can control their trust
funds. Since Hutchins is over the age of 35, her adoption entitles her
immediately to a one-third beneficiary interest in the trust.
The court had previously ruled that the assets owned by
Goodman's children could not be considered part of his net worth in the
calculations for assessing punitive damages for the Wilson family, but the
family thinks the adoption should change the ruling.
"Plaintiffs view the adoption of Ms. Hutchins as a
'game-changer' and as grounds to now include the assets of the children's
trust, at least in some fashion, in the punitive damages calculation,"
Kelley wrote.
Attorneys representing the Wilsons believe that the move is
Goodman's way of maintaining control of his money. A Chicago
Estate Planning Lawyer is curious if this will work.
"By way of this adoption John Goodman effectively owns
or has direct control of one-third of the trust assets," Wilson family
attorney Scott Smith told ABCNews.com in an email. "It cannot go
unrecognized that he has adopted his 42-year-old adult girlfriend as opposed to
a child in need."
Goodman established the trust for his children in 1991 with
$1.5 million. Within seven years, that trust had grown to more than $100
million and is currently worth "several hundred million dollars,"
according to his attorney.
"Nothing in this arrangement with Ms. Hutchins is
illegal," Goodman's attorney Daniel Bachi said in a statement.
"Everything that has been done by Mr. Goodman was done with the intention
to preserve and grow the assets of the Trust for his two minor children, even
should he personally be unable to continue his historical role in achieving
these goals."
Bachi maintains that the adoption will have "no effect
on the civil proceedings" and that Goodman does not benefit from it.
"Mr. Goodman asserts that the adoption makes Ms.
Hutchings a beneficiary and, until a probate court holds otherwise, this Court
will assume this is true," Kelley wrote.
The judge wrote that a probate court with jurisdiction over
the trust will determine whether the adoption is a "sham," as it relates
to the children's trust. A Sioux
Falls Estate Planning Lawyer is wondering about similar cases.
On Jan. 25, a Palm Beach County judge denied Goodman's
request to move the trial to Miami due to the negative publicity and attention
he has received in the Palm Beach area since the accident.
"March will be an exhausting and understandably
difficult time for Mr. and Mrs. Wilson, but they are prepared to move forward
in honor of their only son's memory," Smith wrote.
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