Ugly battle over Gary Coleman’s remains provides a lesson for advisers

Just days after 1970s and ’80s child star Gary Coleman’s death, his parents and ex-wife have began feuding over his remains and where he should be buried.
Experts say the dispute over the will and estate should be yet another reminder for advisers and planners to update clients’ estate documents regularly.

“Once you get the lawyers involved, it costs a fortune and it becomes a mess,” said Ron Weiner, an adviser with RDM Financial Group, whose advisory firm manages $580 million in assets. “The anger among family members is just unbelievable.”

Advisers and attorneys say they constantly see family members who bicker about everything from burial locations to who is in charge of the remains.

Mr. Coleman, the 4-foot-8-inch star of the TV show “Diff’rent Strokes” — and onetime gubernatorial candidate in California — suffered a brain hemorrhage in his Santaquin, Utah, home May 26, falling into a coma. He died on May 28. He was taken off life support by his ex-wife Shannon Price.

Mr. Coleman’s parents, Sue and W.G. “Willie” Coleman, had stated they wanted to transport his remains to Illinois, although it appears they may be backing off that demand. Mr. Coleman’s ex-wife wants to bury the star in Sandy, Utah. Mr. Coleman has been estranged from his parents for more than a decade. In 1993, he won a $1.3 million judgment against his parents after he sued them for misappropriating his money.

Another issue in this case: published reports indicate, is that Mr. Coleman may have drawn up a will 11 years ago. That document will apparently be produced in court this week by an attorney in Utah.

Despite the discovery of the will — and despite Mr. Coleman’s long estrangement with his parents — it’s still possible the late actor’s parents may end up with his remains, said Laura Zwicker, a partner in the Los Angeles-based law firm Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLP. If Mr. Coleman’s estate documents don’t state his wishes clearly, the decision of his burial and ultimate authority of his remains could fall into his parents’ hands since he and Ms. Price had divorced.

“Unfortunately, you can’t divorce your parents,” Ms. Zwicker said. “Even if he was closer with his ex-spouse than his parents, if he didn’t have properly designated wishes, it’ll fall to his parents.”

Josh Rubenstein, an estate attorney with Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, said old wills are easy targets for family challenges.

“If your most recent statement of your intentions is 11 years old, no one believes that is what you still think,” he said. “Everyone’s scurrying to find something else.”

Mr. Rubenstein knows from experience that it’s hard to get young people to craft wills.

“Young people just don’t think they’re going to die,” he said. “It’s a little easier if they have children. But if they don’t have children, it’s hard to get them to do it.”

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