Executor Of Gary Coleman's Will Takes Over, Tells Wife: "You Have No Authority"
Jun. 5 2010, Published 11:04 a.m. ET
The man named as executor of Gary Coleman’s estate says the Diff’rent Strokes star’s ex-wife Shannon Price has no right to decide funeral plans or deal with his assets, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Dion Mial, Coleman’s longtime friend and former manager, was the late actor’s choice to oversee his estate, in a will he wrote in 1999
In a statement released to RadarOnline.com on Saturday, Mial said funeral plans are still “pending."
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Coleman's ex-wife had previously announced a weekend service in Salt Lake City for Coleman, who died after a fall at his Utah home.
However Mial said Price "has absolutely no rights or authority, with regard to the disposition of Gary's remains, services, estate management.”
Coleman’s last will emerged on Friday to be in the possession of Salt Lake City lawyer Kent Alderman, who will take it to a Utah county court next week.
"We will submit that for probate next week and find out if this is the last will. We believe it is. Nobody's come up with a more recent one," Alderman said.
Mial was a friend and ex-manager of the diminutive former child TV star known for his role as Arnold Jackson in the 1978-86 sitcom Diff'rent Strokes.
"I am humbled by Gary's confidence in me and by his fearless friendship," Mial said.
"My life is transformed, because of his distinct presence in it."
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As RadarOnline first revealed, Coleman's estranged parents abandoned their effort to bury him in his native Illinois.
"From the start, Mr. and Mrs. Coleman's intention has been to see that Gary's wishes be honored and that his affairs be taken care of properly," the couple's attorney Frederick Jackson told RadarOnline.com.
"They wanted to do things the right way, and they urge those still involved to do the same. The Colemans ask that everyone please treat Gary with respect and kindness. They feel it is time for him to find peace and let his spirit go."
The body of the 42-year-old actor, who died last May 28 of a brain hemorrhage in a Provo, Utah hospital, is now at Lake Hill Mortuary in Sandy, Utah.
Price, who Coleman divorced in 2008, legally now has no rights over his body.
It was Price, named in an advance health care directive, who ordered that the actor be taken off life support.