A laid-back man-child?s quest to get rich quick is disrupted when he becomes the legal guardian of a pugnacious twelve year old girl.

You pretty much nailed it RUS.

Maybe 'quest' is the wrong word. Rather his quest is to get by with as little effort as possible. Not working a full-time job, etc. The get rich quick schemes are really just ways to make money without effort, aiming to never work hard in his life.

Like you said, they 12 year old girl begins as the antagonistic force because she forces him to be more responsible (the irony being she's more grown up than him), until eventually he realizes he wants her around and Social Services become the antagonist because they want to take her away. Fighting to get her back he works harder than he has before (and spends his money) - so rather than her helping him to get rich quick she helps him learn that there's more important things in life than being rich and working a fulfilling job can be just as rewarding.

Maybe I should reword it to "A man-child's attempt to get through life with minimal work is disrupted..."

But then again, 'quest' does imply a more active character which is always good. And he does kind of work hard at some of these schemes. Again he's blind to see that he could just put this same effort into a job and be paid like everyone else. Kind of like George from Seinfeld.

Anyway, thanks to all for their suggestions.

If he is laid-back, does he really "quest" to get rich? That seems somewhat contradictory. I like Richiev's title ideas. Very clever. But, when did the man-child become a con artist?

I think, once you resolve who the man child is--his predominate character traits, then this might begin to gel a bit more.

Finally, is the twelve year old girl the antagonist? Or could a court order child protective services agent be involved? What if having the twelve year old in his life, ultimately can fulfill his desire to get rich because she has a trust fund but he must first change his ways and learn a lesson--his arc.

Lots of potential here.

I think this could be really funny. I just have a question about your wording. A laid back man child's quest. Is it the laid back man's kid who wants him to be the legal guardian? Are there two kids? I have g o admit I had to look up the word pugnacios but once I did the word fit perfectly.