Fla. mogul, facing trial, adopts his girlfriend

Fla. mogul, facing trial, adopts his girlfriend

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A millionaire polo mogul in Florida is raising eyebrows with his decision to adopt his 42-year-old girlfriend.

Critics of 48-year-old John Goodman says the move is simply an attempt to protect some of his fortune when a lawsuit against him goes to trial later this year.

Goodman is accused of drunken driving manslaughter in the death of a fellow motorist. He faces both a criminal trial that could send him to prison and a civil case brought against him by the victim’s family.

He has a trust fund for his two underage children that would be shielded if the verdict in the lawsuit goes against him. After he adopted his girlfriend, he named her a beneficiary of the trust fund, too.

Goodman’s attorney insists there’s nothing illegal about the move.