Liam Payne’s son Bear is expected to inherit the late singer’s estate after court documents showed that the former One Direction member died without leaving a will.
Payne died in October 2024 at age 31 after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Court records later showed that his estate would be handled under intestacy rules in England and Wales because no valid will had been left.
The Guardian reported that Payne’s estate had a gross value of £28,594,888 and a net value of £24,279,728 after debts and expenses. People reported the U.S. equivalents as roughly $38 million gross and $32.2 million net.
The documents named Payne’s former partner Cheryl, who is Bear’s mother, and music lawyer Richard Mark Bray as administrators of the estate. That role gives them authority to manage the estate, but it does not mean Cheryl personally inherits Payne’s fortune.
Bear Is Expected to Inherit Under UK Intestacy Rules
Bear is Payne’s only child, and Payne was not married or in a civil partnership when he died. Under intestacy rules in England and Wales, GOV.UK says that when a person who dies without a will is not married, children come first in the inheritance order, while unmarried partners and friends do not inherit under those rules.
That is why Bear is expected to inherit the estate, rather than Cheryl, Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy, or Payne’s wider family. The Guardian reported that Cheryl may set up a trust for Bear in line with English intestacy law, while legal commentary from probate specialists has noted that a minor beneficiary cannot simply take control of a multimillion-pound inheritance immediately.
Because Bear is still a child, the estate has to be preserved and managed through the legal process.
Cheryl and Richard Bray Were Named Administrators
People reported that court documents issued on May 1 named Cheryl and Bray as administrators. The outlet, citing the BBC, reported that they had limited authority over the estate at that stage and could not yet distribute the assets.
In practical terms, administrators deal with the estate because Payne did not leave a will naming executors. Cheryl’s involvement is tied to Bear, not to a personal inheritance claim. Bray’s role adds a music-industry legal figure to the administration of assets connected to Payne’s career, property, royalties and other interests.
Several outlets used loose wording when the documents first surfaced, but the legal point is narrower. Cheryl was not “left” the estate; she and Bray were appointed to manage it while the estate moves through the formal process.
Kate Cassidy Is Not Automatically Entitled Under the Rules
Payne was dating Kate Cassidy when he died, but they were not married or in a civil partnership. Under the intestacy rules cited by GOV.UK, unmarried partners do not automatically inherit from an estate when there is no will.
Business Insider made the same point when the court documents were reported in May 2025, explaining that Payne’s son was expected to inherit because Payne had no lawful spouse and died without a will. Cassidy’s relationship with Payne does not give her the same automatic position as a spouse, civil partner or child under those rules.