On Monday, a judge at the 4th District Court rejected Shannon Price’s entitlement to the actor Gary Coleman’s estate.

Coleman, who at the age of 10 became a prime time phenomenon because of his spunky personality, chubby cheeks, and comedic timing, passed away two years ago at the age of 42 after falling accidentally at his Utah home. He suffered a cerebral hemorrhage.

Anna Gray was named as Gary Coleman’s executor and beneficiary in a will he signed in 2005. However, Coleman and Price were married in 2007, and in that same year, Coleman added a handwritten codicil to the will, which is an alteration to a will. It’s interesting to note what Coleman said:

“I have made this change of free will and was not coerced in any way. This I have done because of my personal selfishness and weakness and I love her with all of my heart.”

Odd language. But the strange events that surrounded Coleman’s Estate didn’t stop there. Because Coleman and Price separated in 2008, this will codicil is no longer valid under Utah law. They even appeared on a telecast of Divorce Court together.

Price argued that even though they were divorced, as common-law husband and wife, they were still married when she sued to enforce the codicil. She said that the main reason they didn’t formally remarry was to keep their relationship private.

Even after their divorce, Price and Coleman “couldn’t be without one other,” according to her.

However, Judge James Taylor found that there wasn’t enough evidence to support Price and Coleman continuing to be a couple and accepting their shared marital responsibilities.

“They both generally resided in the home belonging to Mr. Coleman from August 2008 until he died,” Taylor noted in his ruling. “But that living arrangement did not take on the appearance of a marital relationship as Ms. Price moved in and out on numerous occasions, either out of anger between them or to allow her to pursue another man.”

Coleman’s ex-girlfriend Anna Gray allegedly served as the affair’s manager for years and claimed that Coleman appointed her as his estate’s executor and beneficiary in 2005.

A judgement naming Price as Coleman’s common law spouse would have strengthened her claim to his inheritance, including rights to his cremated remains and the use of the star’s name. The question at hand was which of Coleman’s several wills should control the distribution of his assets.

Judge James R. Taylor concluded late on Monday that she had failed to establish that her relationship satisfied Utah’s requirements for common-law marriage, stating that there was “just little credible evidence to determine that they were more than occasional housemates.”

Although the pair may have taken on certain shared responsibilities, Taylor concluded that many facets of their relationship fell short of what is typical of a marriage.

Taylor cited the witness evidence that showed Price had come and gone from Coleman’s house and that the pair had not shown much public affection.

A home worth more than $300,000 USD, the rights to some of Coleman’s works, and the ashes of the Diff’rent Strokes singer were all at stake.

Coleman was most well-known for his part in the television series “Diff’rent Strokes.”