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Inside the Explosive Probate Battle Over Gary Coleman’s Estate
2 WILLS, HANDWRITTEN CODICIL SPARK LEGAL WAR Gary Coleman’s Probate Drama
Gary Coleman’s death at age 42 in 2010 led to one of the most convoluted probate battles in celebrity estate history. Although he left only modest assets, the fight over his will and remains spiraled into a legal saga filled with dramatic courtroom testimony and personal revelations. Coleman had signed multiple wills: a 1999 document naming a former manager as his executor and a 2005 will naming his longtime assistant and friend, Anna Gray, as executor and sole beneficiary. Even though he divorced Shannon Price in 2008, Coleman had allegedly added a handwritten codicil in 2007, leaving everything to her. Price asserted they continued living together as husband and wife, despite the divorce, claiming a common‑law marriage under Utah law. This twist turned a probate hearing into a character trial. Price’s legal team presented
witnesses (bank officers, Coleman’s agent, and relatives) who testified that the couple filed joint taxes, shared bank accounts, and called each other husband and wife. But Anna Gray’s side countered with a strong testimony. The judge questioned whether Price had established a public reputation as a wife, a key requirement for common‑law recognition in Utah.
Anna Gray as executor and beneficiary stood as the controlling document.
So, what did Coleman actually leave behind? His estate amounted to little more than his home ($315,000), royalty payments, and possessions. The real value lay in deciding who controlled Coleman’s name, ashes, and remaining intellectual property. Adding to court records, Shannon Price was the person who authorized turning off Coleman’s life support when he fell and suffered a brain hemorrhage in 2010. Whether that gave her moral or legal standing remained hotly debated, but in probate court, she lost.
In May 2012, after three days of explosive
testimony, Judge James Taylor ruled that Price failed to show a recognized common‑law marriage with Coleman at the time of his death. This meant that the 2005 will naming
And in the end, the probate judge settled the matter: Anna Gray inherited what remained of Coleman’s estate, his ashes, and control over the disposition of his name and legacy.
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