AceShowbiz - Gary Coleman's ex-wife is "wishing and hoping" fans of the tragic "Diff'rent Strokes" star will help pay for his funeral - insisting she has been left with "nothing". Shannon Price was at the center of controversy last week when it was revealed she was not married to the actor when she gave doctors permission to turn off his life support machine. The pair divorced in 2008, but continued to live together at their home in Utah.

Following the news, Coleman's estranged parents Sue and Willie - who the star had not spoken to since 1989 - announced through their son's manager that they wanted custody of his remains so he can be returned to his native Illinois, insisting they are his legal next of kin.

However, Price appears to be going ahead with her ex-husband's funeral, which is slated to take place in Utah this weekend, revealing to TMZ.com that she is struggling to raise funds to pay for the burial. And Price reveals Coleman was refused a life insurance policy due to his congenital kidney disease.

In a video interview with the website, she says, "Our life together has not always been the best financially, and right now I'm struggling to figure out what I'm going to do for funeral costs and I don't know how I'm going to survive, it's been really rough... because Gary hasn't had much work because of his health. Our finances were great when I met him, he had a lot of work and a lot of projects, but now I basically have nothing."

"He was never able to have life insurance because of his renal failure, his kidney disease, he was never able to get that - which is sad, because that could have helped with funeral costs and everything else. So I'm just wishing and hoping that people will pour out (sic) to us and show their compassion like they have been with the emails and letters."