Liam Payne’s estate will be awarded to his nine-year-old son, Bear Grey Payne, whom he shares with his former partner, Girls Aloud star Cheryl, as per court documents. The late One Direction member, who passed away after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, did not have a will at the time of his death, and as such his $29 million fortune will be handed down to Bear.
Liam’s attorney, Richard Mark Bray, is an administrator of his estate alongside Cheryl, and the money will be held in a trust until Bear turns 18, with some of it accessible now.
The singer welcomed Bear in 2017, a year into his romance with Cheryl. “I’m incredibly happy to welcome our new baby boy into the world, it’s a moment that I will never forget for the rest of my life and my favorite memory I have so far,” Liam wrote online at the time.
“I’m completely in awe of his incredible mother, and how she has been the whole way through this; she’s really made my dreams come true.” The couple split in 2018 after two years together, and remained committed to co-parenting their young son. Liam previously told People that it took time to settle into fatherhood, as he was only 23 when Bear arrived.
“I had my son at a young age, and you think it will be a magical thing, that you’re going to grow up one day into the person you’re supposed to be,” he told the outlet. “But it took a lot to find my footing. I figured, Dad takes care of everyone, that’s what he does, so my thing was to cook.”
Bear was just seven years old when Liam passed away on October 16, 2024, after falling from a hotel balcony.
© Photo: InstagramCheryl took to social media in the days after his death to plead for grace from social media users. “As I try to navigate this earth-shattering event, and work through my own grief at this indescribably painful time, I’d like to kindly remind everyone that we have lost a human being,” she wrote on Instagram at the time.
See more of Cheryl and Bear below…
“Liam was not only a pop star and celebrity, he was a son, a brother, an uncle, a dear friend and a father to our seven-year-old son,” she continued. “A son that now has to face the reality of never seeing his father again.”
Liam’s girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, reportedly will not make any claims on his estate, as they were not married. The former waitress hit back at social media users who claimed she was interested in Liam’s money in an interview with The Sun in 2025.
© Dave Benett/Getty Images“When people come and point a finger at me saying, ‘You took an allowance, and you had living expenses’, or whatever, at the end of the day it’s nobody’s business except for me and Liam,” she told the outlet.
© Instagram“I never [asked him for money]. Yeah, it’s upsetting, but it’s just about having thick skin, and I’m never going to let anybody tell me how my relationship was with Liam. The only two people that really know how strong a relationship was are me and Liam.”
The couple were together for two years until his tragic death, which sent shockwaves around the world and led to a touching reunion between his former bandmates, including Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik.
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