Gary Coleman Divorced at Time of Death!

[catlover79]

http://www.tmz.com/2010/06/02/gary-c...r-of-attorney/

Gary Coleman Divorced from Shannon Price

Originally posted Jun 2nd 2010 2:20 PM PDT by TMZ Staff

TMZ has learned Gary Coleman divorced Shannon Price nearly two years ago ... raising issues about her authority to make final medical decisions on Gary's behalf.

Gary's divorce lawyer, Randy Kester, tells TMZ the couple divorced on August 12, 2008, and as far as he knows they never remarried.

Kester does not know if Price had a power of attorney to make medical decisions.

A hospital official tells TMZ they have "become aware he may not have been married to her." But the official said she was portraying herself as Gary's wife and they didn't require further proof.

The official did not say if Shannon had a power of attorney.

[Marvo301]

So she didn't have the right to turn off his life support? Wow! This story is starting to have as many twists and turns as ....well..Gary's life!

[bialystock93]

WHAT? WOW!

So, there's a chance that Gary WANTED to live, and his EX wife pulled the plug? That is terrible!

[catlover79]

http://www.people.com/people/article...390652,00.html

By Ken Lee

Update Wednesday June 02, 2010 06:55 PM EDT
Originally posted Wednesday June 02, 2010 06:10 PM EDT

Shannon Price portrayed herself to emergency crews and hospital staff as Gary Coleman's wife, but his former lawyer now says the pair weren't legally married at the time of the actor's death.

"I can confirm they've been divorced since August 12, 2008," attorney Randy Kester, who handled the divorce, tells PEOPLE. "At the time of Gary's death, they were not married. I have no knowledge if they were ever remarried."

The discovery comes after documents were posted on ETOnline Wednesday showing the couple had divorced, though their names were listed as John Doe and Jane Doe.

"Gary wanted me to keep their divorce private," Kester says, "but now that it's been made public, I'm compelled to say it's all true."

Shielia Erickson, a Salt Lake City agent who represents Price, tells PEOPLE she isn't sure about the couple's marital status. "I wish I could clear that up ... I'm still waiting to find out myself from Shannon."

But she says Price and Coleman took care of each other. "They needed each other and loved each other," says Erickson. “They wanted to work through their problems."


Questions About Authority
The revelation that they were not legally married calls into question whether Price, 24, had the authority to make any medical decisions on the actor's behalf – as well as any future decisions, such as funeral arrangements or those concerning his estate.

The actor, 42, was taken off life support Friday with Price's permission. A 911 call tape released Wednesday also revealed that Price initially resisted giving Coleman medical aid.

"We're definitely concerned about this and we're looking into what exactly happened here," says Janet Frank, spokeswoman for the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center where Coleman died. "Shannon certainly portrayed herself as his wife to our staff and doctors. We assumed she was telling the truth. We can't comment on specific details in Mr. Coleman's case, but in general, any patient on life support is thoroughly evaluated medically before life support is ended."

Adds attorney Kester: "It's possible that Gary gave Shannon the authority in writing at the hospital to make medical decisions for him, but whether he did, I don't know."

Reached for comment regarding the divorce, Gary's mother, Sue Coleman, said: "It's too early for us to comment on this. Of course we're concerned, but we need to find out more information."

The Colemans, whom the actor had stopped communicating with approximately 15 years ago, say that Price's brother has reached out to them regarding funeral plans, "but it's still unclear what [the Prices] have in mind, but of course we'd love to be there."

Erickson says the funeral plans are being made now: "We’re looking at Gary's wishes in the will and also what the family wants. Shannon’s only goal is to make sure his wishes are accomplished."

[Mr. Television]

I don't know what to think. It's all very strange. I have been thinking that the plug on him was pulled awfully fast. Wasn't he awake the day before? Nobody knows what their relationship was like. It appeared to be quite hostile although they seemed to be trying to work it out. I hope he gave her power of attorney because if he didn't, there could be trouble.

[catlover79]

If he did give her power of attorney, I hope that she was able to get it in writing!!!!

I don't know about anyone else, but...

...I SMELL LAWSUITS!!!!!!

[Mr. Television]

Originally Posted by catlover79

If he did give her power of attorney, I hope that she was able to get it in writing!!!!

I don't know about anyone else, but...

...I SMELL LAWSUITS!!!!!!

Gary's parents probably.....

[catlover79]

Originally Posted by Clint Eastwood Fan

Gary's parents probably.....

I would replace "probably" with "definitely"!

[catlover79]

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b183...squeamish.html


Did Shannon Price have the authority to instruct the doctors to take Gary Coleman off life support?

That's in question—along with a few other things—now that documents have surfaced proving that Coleman and Price, who he married in August 2007, got divorced in 2008 due to "irreconcilable differences." A judge signed off on the split on Aug. 12 of that year, not long after the duo appeared on Divorce Court in an apparent attempt to save their marriage.

View the divorce decree.

And yet there they were in bed together on the night he suffered his ultimately fatal head injury.

Price was the one who called 911 one week ago to report that Coleman had fallen down in their Utah home and was unconscious. She told police that they had been in bed when she asked him to get her something to eat; then, while still in the master bedroom, she heard a thud from downstairs.

"He fell. His head is bloody," Price told the 911 dispatcher, according to an audio recording of the call. "There's blood all over the floor. I don't know what happened."

When the dispatcher asked her to go downstairs to check out Coleman's condition, Price resisted, saying, "I've just been kind of sick. I don't want to be traumatized right now.

She did ultimately go downstairs to help. She can be heard relaying the dispatcher's instructions to Coleman to put pressure on his head wound.

"I just can't be here with the blood," Price said on the phone. "I'm sorry, I can't do it. I can't...There's blood all over and I can't do anything." Right before a crew arrived at their house, she said, "I'm gagging, I got blood on myself, I can't deal."

"I just don't want him to die," she said. "I'm freaking out, like, really bad."

According to the Santaquin Police Department's incident report, Coleman was bleeding from a 2-inch laceration on his head, but was awake enough to answer the paramedics' questions. The Diff'rent Strokes star was also able to walk to the ambulance that transported him to the hospital.

Per the report, Price stayed upstairs once paramedics arrived, telling them she could not look at blood "or she would pass out or go into a seizure"—a common reaction, the investigator noted.

The officer stated that he observed "nothing suspicious."

Read the police report.

Us Weekly reported that Coleman had been in a weakened state when he fell after undergoing a four-hour kidney dialysis treatment. The 42-year-old was born with one failed kidney and had related health problems throughout his life.

Doctors said that Coleman suffered a brain hemorrhage from his apparent fall, which caused him to slip into a coma. He was taken off life support on Friday.

Meanwhile, a hospital official says that Price identified herself as Coleman's wife and she wasn't asked to provide documented proof. Coleman's divorce lawyer, Randy Kester, said he didn't know whether Price had power of attorney to make medical decisions on the actor's behalf.

"Some people in the public are raising issues whether she had authority to do that," Kester told Us. "I think there's going to be some developing controversy about some issues of authority."

And here come Coleman's estranged parents, who are demanding answers to the questions they have about their son's death.

"It's too early for us to comment on this. Of course we're concerned, but we need to find out more information," mom Sue Price told People.

Coleman's body has been turned over to Utah's state medical examiner's office for further examination, according to RadarOnline. "The state medical examiner's office looks at cases to determine answers to questions," said Utah Valley Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Janet Frank.

Coleman's family was hoping to hold a funeral service for him sometime this weekend, but plans have not been finalized.

[catlover79]

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b184...had_right.html


Hospital: Gary Coleman's Ex Had Right to Make Medical Decisions
Today 8:43 PM PDT by Natalie Finn and Ashley Fultz


Shannon Price was no longer Gary Coleman's missus, but apparently he trusted her with his life anyway.

E! News has learned that the ex-Mrs. Coleman did indeed have the legal right to make medical decisions for the actor if he was incapacitated and unable to do so, as Price did when she agreed to take Coleman off life support last week.

So even though she technically told an untruth by telling hospital workers she was Coleman's wife, she didn't cross any other, shadier lines.

"Mr. Coleman had completed an Advanced Health Care Directive that granted Shannon Price permission to make medical decisions on his behalf if he was unable to do so," reads a statement released by Utah Valley Regional Medical Center to E! News.

"An Advanced Health Care Directive remains in effect regardless of a patient's marital status, unless modified by the patient. It is a private medical document which the hospital does not have permission to release. However, we received permission to confirm that the document was in effect at the time of Mr. Coleman's death."

No other information is available due to federal privacy statutes.

Coleman had been undergoing dialysis for kidney disease at the time of his death. He was born with congenital kidney disease, the treatment for which stunted his growth at an early age, and he suffered from related health problems all his life.

He and Price were still living together when he died. She told police that she was in the master bedroom when she heard a thud from downstairs, discovered the 42-year-old unconscious and called 911.

[Mr. Television]

This story has more twists than a soap opera.

[catlover79]

Originally Posted by Clint Eastwood Fan

This story has more twists than a soap opera.

I know - you just can't write this kind of stuff!!!

[Marvo301]

Originally Posted by catlover79

I know - you just can't write this kind of stuff!!!

How soon do you think the made for TV movie will be out? I think it's pretty much inevitable that there will be one!

[catlover79]

Originally Posted by Marvo301

How soon do you think the made for TV movie will be out? I think it's pretty much inevitable that there will be one!

Not to mention tell-all books, press junkets...etc. Somehow I'm starting to think that Shannon is maybe involved. It just seems very fishy. Don't forget they had been involved in domestic squabbles before...

[Marvo301]

Originally Posted by catlover79

Not to mention tell-all books, press junkets...etc. Somehow I'm starting to think that Shannon is maybe involved. It just seems very fishy. Don't forget they had been involved in domestic squabbles before...

I wonder if Shannon has been booked on Oprah yet!! It's starting to look more and more like Shannon was just another person looking at Gary as a meal ticket!