Seven months after the shocking death of pop star Liam Payne, newly revealed court filings have confirmed that the former One Direction member died without a will, leaving behind a $40 million fortune that is now being managed by his ex-partner Cheryl, and a music industry attorney.
Payne, who died in October 2024 at the age of 31 after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, left an estate that included property, music royalties, and personal assets totaling £28.6 million ($38 million) gross, according to official probate documents filed in the United Kingdom. After debts and expenses, the net value of the estate was £24.3 million, equivalent to approximately $32.2 million USD.
Because Payne did not have a legal will in place at the time of his death, his estate is being handled under the rules of intestacy in England and Wales. According to those laws, an unmarried person’s estate typically passes to their children if there is no surviving spouse or civil partner.
As a result, Payne’s 8-year-old son Bear, whom he shared with singer Cheryl (formerly Cheryl Cole and Cheryl Tweedy), is expected to inherit the full estate. In the meantime, Cheryl and veteran music lawyer Richard Mark Bray have been appointed co-administrators with a limited grant of representation. That means they can preserve and manage Payne’s assets, but they cannot distribute funds or finalize the estate until a general grant is approved by the court.
Cheryl and Payne were in a relationship from 2016 to 2018, and welcomed Bear in March 2017. Though they split romantically, the two continued to co-parent and remained closely connected in their son’s life.
Liam Payne and Cheryl Cole (Photo by Venturelli/WireImage)
Following Payne’s death, Cheryl issued an emotional public statement calling the event “earth shattering,” and pleaded with the media and fans to treat the tragedy with sensitivity for Bear’s sake. “Liam was not only a pop star and celebrity,” she wrote, “he was a son, a brother, an uncle, a dear friend, and a father to our 7-year-old son. A son who now has to face the reality of never seeing his father again.”
Payne’s sudden death stunned fans around the world. He rose to fame as one-fifth of One Direction, the boy band formed on “The X Factor” in 2010, which went on to sell over 20 million albums worldwide and become one of the best-selling acts of the decade. He later launched a solo career, signing with Republic Records and releasing his debut album LP1 in 2019, which included the hit single “Strip That Down.”
At the time of his death, Payne was in a relationship with influencer Kate Cassidy, who said she had left Argentina just days before the fatal fall. In a later interview, Cassidy said Payne had been in a “great place” and full of love when she saw him last. A postmortem determined the cause of death to be multiple traumatic injuries and internal bleeding. A toxicology report revealed that drugs were in Payne’s system at the time, leading to a criminal investigation in Argentina. Earlier this year, charges of criminal negligence against three out of five individuals were dropped.
With Cheryl and Bray now overseeing the administration of his multimillion-dollar estate, the focus will likely shift to preserving Payne’s legacy—and ensuring Bear receives the financial security his father’s career made possible. But the emotional aftermath remains.
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