ABC 33/40 - Birmingham News, Weather, SportsBillionaire Adopts His Girlfriend!

Billionaire Adopts His Girlfriend!

Florida billionaire John Goodman has adopted his 42-year-old girlfriend, Heather Laruso Hutchins, in what rival lawyers say may be an attempt to shield his assets in a wrongful death lawsuit.

Goodman, 48, founder of the International Polo Club Palm Beach, faces a civil trial in the death of 23-year-old Scott Patrick Wilson. Police say Goodman was drunk at the wheel of his Bentley when it ran a stop sign and slammed into Wilson's car in 2010.

Attorneys for Wilson's parents, who are suing the billionaire, speculate the adoption may be designed to protect Goodman's children's trust, estimated to be worth "several hundred million dollars."