14 DAY TRIAL // One Florida man has just found a legal loophole that might save his millions in case he's found guilty of wrongful death in a civil case stemming from a 2010 car crash: he's adopted his adult girlfriend.
The video here will offer more details.
John Goodman, a very successful Florida businessman, is now being sued for wrongful death for a car accident he was involved in back in 2010.
At the time, he got behind the wheel intoxicated, ran a stop sign and crashed into another car. The other driver died later, from injuries sustained in the crash.
The man's family is now taking Goodman to court, asking for compensation. They plan on using the money to set up a trust fund for their late son.
Because Goodman knows he could lose the suit, his attorneys counseled him to adopt his 43-year-old girlfriend because, that way, his money would be hers and no one could touch it in the eventuality he lost the case.
Specialists estimate that a judge could rule that the case was in a “twilight legal zone” and thus drop it.
Goodman already has children but they're under 35, which means they (and he, implicitly) can't touch the trust funds he set up for them a while back.
However, because his girlfriend, who is now his adoptive daughter, is over 35, she can spend the money he gives her – with him, of course.
In Florida, you can adopt an adult.
So, assuming he loses the case (which he probably will, since he was drunk at the time of the accident), he won't be able to pay the family a dime because his fortune goes to his “daughter.”
Experts are divided on the case: some believe the idea to adopt the girlfriend is a brilliant one because it will protect Goodman's millions even if he loses the civil case.
Others, though, think of the family of the victim, saying it would have been much more admirable of him if he owned up to the mistake and just offered compensation for what he did before the matter went to trial.
Goodman still risks going to jail because of the accident.