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Gary Coleman's Ex-Wife Wants His Ashes For Her Neck

March 18, 2011

Shannon Price and Gary Coleman enjoyed a brief, but love-filled marriage until they divorced in 2008. How do we know it was so loving? Because, according to Price, they remained together as common-law husband and wife, even after they divorced.

That's right, she says they lived together, enjoyed marital relations, and considered themselves to be a married couple until Coleman passed away at age 42 on May 28, 2010. Utah is one of the few states that permits common-law marriages.

And whether they truly were a common-law married couple is the focus of the estate fight currently brewing now. It doesn't make much sense for a couple to get divorced, as Coleman and Price did, but then become a common-law married couple.

Perhaps that's why the estate fight has dragged on so long. Price's spokesperson said that she's battling in part to be able to receive Coleman's ashes so she can properly lay them to rest ... that is, she wants to lay most of them to rest.

She wants to keep some in a locket to wear around her neck.

But, unless she can prove they really were still married, she can't have the ashes ... or anything else from Coleman's estate. If she wins, and a handwritten will signed by Coleman in 2007 (naming Price as the sole beneficiary) is shown to be valid, then Price would win the ashes and whatever monetary value can be recovered through Coleman's estate.

Until then, the ashes will continue to sit in the offices of a lawyer appointed to oversee the estate while the fighting continues.

Danielle and Andy discuss this bizarre battle in this video:

By Andy and Danielle Mayoras, co-authors of Trial & Heirs: Famous Fortune Fights!, husband-and-wife legacy expert attorneys, and hosts of an upcoming national PBS special. The charismatic duo has appeared on the Rachael Ray Show, Forbes, ABC's Live Well Network, WGN-TV and has lent their expertise and analysis to hundreds of media sources. As dynamic keynote speakers, Danielle and Andy delight audiences nationwide with highly entertaining and informative presentations, dishing the dirt on celebrity estate battles while dispensing important legal information.

For legal help in Michigan, visit Andy and Danielle's law firm's websites, The Center for Elder Law and The Center for Probate Litigation. For the latest celebrity and high-profile cases, with tips to protect yourself, your loved ones, and your clients, subscribe to The Legacy Update at www.TrialandHeirs.com.