Liam Payne died without a will, but Cheryl Tweedy, his former partner and the mother of his son, Bear, has been named one of the administrators of his sizable estate.
According to U.K. records obtained by Rolling Stone, the gross value of Payne’s estate is £28,594,888 (about $38 million), while the net value — after debts and expenses are covered — amounts to £24,279,728 (or about $32 million). Along with Tweedy, the music industry lawyer Richard Mark Bray was named as one of the administrators of the former One Direction member’s estate.
Because Payne died without a will, Tweedy and Bray will be responsible for Payne’s money, property, and possessions, much of which could be put into a trust for Bear. The Guardian notes that laws in England and Wales stipulate that a person’s spouse, and then their children, have first claim to the estate if there is no will.
As Rolling Stone reported earlier this year in a major investigation into Payne’s life and death, the musician was often financially responsible for those around him after achieving so much success at a young age in One Direction. A source close to Payne’s ex-girlfriend, Maya Henry, said that Payne felt “the weight of financially supporting those around him,” especially after the middling success of his 2019 debut album, LP1.
“He had to keep working and making money and expressed his worries about his finances and the pressure to take care of those around him that became accustomed to a certain lifestyle,” the source said.
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Payne died on Oct. 16, 2024 at the age of 31 after falling from the balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires. He died of multiple traumas and hemorrhaging caused by the fall, while a preliminary toxicology report stated that he had alcohol, cocaine, and a prescription antidepressant in his system. Authorities in Argentina ultimately found that Payne likely fell from the balcony while trying to escape the hotel after being locked in his room.
Still, prosecutors did bring involuntary manslaughter charges against two hotel workers and Payne’s friend, Roger Nores, over their alleged role in his death. While the trio were eventually acquitted, two other people, accused of selling Payne drugs, remain detained as they await trial.
