Gary Coleman: Utah’s Own Celebrity Estate Battle

Blog Post by:  Melissa C. Platt, Esq.

Utah has turned Hollywood as the latest celebrity estate battle is playing out right here in Utah County. Actor Gary Coleman, child star of the smash 1970’s television sitcom, “Diff’rent Strokes,” died in Provo late last month after suffering a brain hemorrhage. Best known for asking, “Whatchu talkin’ bout, Willis?”, Coleman moved to Utah and met his future wife, Shannon Price, during filming for the 2006 comedy, Church Ball. Coleman and Price married in 2007 and then divorced in 2008, although the couple remained close and continued to live together in Coleman’s Santaquin home until Coleman’s death.

In fact, it was Price who called 911 after Coleman fell in his home and hit his head. In the call, she repeatedly refers to Coleman as her “husband.” And it was Price who ordered that Coleman be taken off life support.

A Utah Valley Regional Medical Center spokesman said Price was named by Coleman in an Advance Health Care Directive (AHCD), which gave her the authority to make health care decisions for Coleman when he couldn’t make them for himself. An AHCD remains in effect, regardless of the patient’s marital status, unless the patient modifies the document.

Although Coleman died on May 28, as of this writing (June 14) Coleman has yet to be interred because of the disputes that have surfaced over his remains and estate, which includes his Santaquin home (worth about $315,000 according to Utah County tax records), a pension, residuals from Coleman’s TV and movie work, and the right to license his likeness. A hearing is set for this afternoon in Provo’s 4th District courthouse—sure to be the first of many.

Originally, the dispute started between Coleman’s estranged parents and his ex-wife. Coleman became alienated from his parents at age 21 when his mother filed a court request trying to gain control of her son’s then $6 million fortune, saying he was incapable of handling his affairs. Their estrangement continued until Coleman’s death, and Coleman’s parents only learned of his hospitalization and death through media reports. Because no will had surfaced appointing a personal representative (executor) for the estate, Coleman’s parents sought custody of his body as Coleman’s next of kin so they could return it home to Coleman’s boyhood home in Illinois.

But Coleman’s parents abandoned their suit when a 1999 will surfaced, naming as executor Dion Mial, Coleman’s friend and former manager. Still, Price (the ex) claims to have a 2007 handwritten codicil (amendment) to the will that gives all the assets to her. “I made this change of free will and was not coerced in any way,” says the note dated September 4, 2007, less than a month after Coleman and Price married. “This I have done because of my personal selfishness and my weakness and I love her with all my heart.” But Mial claims the codicil is invalid since Coleman and Price divorced in 2008. Under Utah law (U.C.A. 75-2-804), a divorce revokes any disposition of property made to a former spouse. But Price claims that she and Coleman were under a common law marriage since they continued to live together until Coleman’s death, so the disposition is still valid and she should be the one to make funeral arrangements.

And yet a third will surfaced on Friday, creating a three-way battle for the estate. This will names Anna Gray, former chief executive of Coleman’s corporation, as executor and beneficiary of the estate. The will is dated February 15, 2005, and if valid, supersedes the 1999 will already entered for probate by Mial.

According to Randy Kester, Coleman’s Utah attorney, Coleman did have a trust drafted but from all the copies Kester has seen, it was never signed. Ironically, Kester and Coleman even talked about meeting and working on a new will four or five weeks before Coleman’s death.

So, what lessons can we learn from Gary Coleman? First, if you create new estate planning documents, you should gather and destroy the old ones. If the new will supersedes the old one, then there is no reason to keep the old one. True, the law says the most recent document controls, but if the old ones don’t even exist, then you’re not going to have the problems Coleman’s estate is having. Second, update your documents on a regular basis. Did Coleman want his former wife to have the power to pull the plug, even after their divorce? Did he want his ex to receive his estate? Coleman could have easily put these lingering questions to rest by updating his documents after a life-changing event like a divorce. And third—the same lesson we learned from Howard Hughes’ estate mess last month—when creating or amending estate planning docs, avoid drama by doing it properly with the help of a qualified attorney.