Gary Coleman died recently in 2010. Many believed that there was not much left in his estate, yet two women are now battling over his estate. Shannon Price, his ex-wife has asked a judge for Coleman’s estate. Complications with this request include the fact that Price and Coleman got divorced in 2008 even though they kept living together and Coleman named his ex-girlfriend Anna Gray, as the beneficiary of his estate. Price argues that even though Coleman named Gray as the beneficiary, Coleman signed an amendment that gave his assets to Price. The authenticity of that amendment is in question because Coleman and Price were divorced. The result of the trial will likely turn on whether Coleman and Price kept living together from the time of their divorce in 2012 until Coleman’s death in 2010.
The value in Coleman’s estate lies in the estate’s future claims to intellectual property rights, book rights, movie rights, and the right to control his likeness. These assets could potentially be worth millions.
See Mike Krumboltz, Gary Coleman’s Estate Being Fought Over, Yahoo! TV, May 7, 2012.
Special thanks to David S. Luber (Attorney at law, Florida Probate Attorney Wills and Estates Law Firm) for bringing this article to my attention.
