I don’t think it gets much stranger than this.

A 48-year-old Florida businessman has legally adopted his 42-year-old girlfriend as his daughter. He did this in order to shield his assets from judgement in a wrongful death lawsuit . The judge in the case said this case is entering a “legal twilight zone.”

Billionaire John Goodman, who founded the International Polo Club Beach in Wellington, legally adopted Heather Hutchins on Oct. 13 in Miami-Dade County, according to a court order by Circuit Court Judge Glenn Kelley.

The judge, granting the plaintiffs the right to view all paperwork concerning the adoption said,

“The events which serve as the grounds for the relief sought by the Plaintiffs border on the surreal and take the Court into a legal twilight zone. While there is nothing unusual about an adult adoption, the critical fact here is that Ms. Hutchins is Mr. Goodman’s 42-year-old girlfriend. Ms. Hutchins has testified in a deposition that she started dating Mr. Goodman in 2009, and it appears to be undisputed that they are still in a relationship today.”

This move was made in response to a lawsuit filed by the family of a man that Goodman ran over while driving drunk in Florida.

“As a result of adopting his 42-year-old adult girlfriend, John Goodman has effectively taken over one-third of the trust assets. It should not go unrecognized that he has adopted his adult girlfriend as opposed to adopting a child in need. That cannot go unrecognized.”

The judge had previously ruled that Goodman’s trust which was setup for his two minor children would not be considered part of his assets in the event the jury found him liable in the wrongful death. He is claiming that as one of his children, his girlfriend will be a beneficiary of one third of the trust.

The judge further wrote,

“A probate court with jurisdiction over the trust (either in Texas or Delaware) will be called upon to determine this issue and will ultimately decide whether the adoption, at least as it relates to the children’s trust, is a sham. Nevertheless, Mr. Goodman asserts that the adoption makes Ms. Hutchins a beneficiary and, until a probate court holds otherwise, this Court will assume this is true.”

Goodman was twice the legal limit in Florida at the time of the crash. In addition to the civil penalties he faces 30 years in prison if convicted of killing someone in Florida while driving drunk.

What do you think of this one?

Watch a video about the crash and the charges