Gary Coleman's cremation is delayed by judge

Coleman was living with Price at the time of his death

US actor Gary Coleman's remains are not to be cremated until after Wednesday so his ex-girlfriend has time to see his body, a US judge has ruled. The former Diff'rent Strokes star died of a brain haemorrhage last month after a fall at his home in Utah. His ex-wife Shannon Price and former girlfriend Anna Gray are in a dispute over control of his estate.

Ms Price divorced Coleman in 2008 but was named as his sole heir in 2007. Ms Gray was named in a 2005 will. Last week, Ms Price launched a legal bid to take control of Coleman's estate. She claims she is still his common-law wife and should be the one to make funeral arrangements. However, Ms Gray was named in Coleman's will dated 2005 and her lawyer Randy Kester said the couple knew each other for eight years.

On Monday, one of Coleman's friends and former managers, Dion Mial, withdrew his petition to be named as the special administrator of the actor's estate. Mr Mial was named in a 1999 will by Coleman, but Mial's lawyer said the will that names Ms Gray takes precedence because it is more recent. Meanwhile, Coleman's estranged parents, Sue and Willie Coleman, have said they will not seek permission to make their son's funeral arrangements.

The former child star successfully sued them in 1989 over misappropriation of his trust fund. Their lawyer Frederick Jackman said the couple did not ask the judge to let them see their son before he is cremated. "They want Gary to rest. That's all they want. I think they feel like if they came out here it would create 'activity', Their son is gone. They just want him left alone," Mr Jackman said.