Liam Payne wasn’t able to name a beneficiary in his will. However, his former partner Cheryl Cole will reportedly receive his fortune.
The British pop star tragically died after falling from the balcony of his hotel in Argentina last year. He was 31 years old.
Liam Payne’s Sudden Death Leaves Estate to Ex Cheryl Cole
Liam Payne left behind a legacy from a career spanning more than a decade as an artist. However, one thing he didn’t leave was a will.
Although he is survived by his parents, sisters, and his girlfriend of two years, Kate Cassidy, no one close to him was named as a beneficiary, likely due to his sudden death on October 16, 2024.
But Payne’s ex-girlfriend, Cheryl Cole (also known as Cheryl Ann Tweedy), was the one who received his fortune, as appointed by one of his estate administrators.
The singer was duty-bound to receive his £24 million, as under UK rules of intestacy, a deceased person’s children can claim the inheritance if there is no surviving spouse or civil partner. Cole and Payne shared a son, Bear, who is now 8 years old.
Attorney Richard Mark Bray was granted administrative duties and will manage Payne’s finances alongside Cole. However, they have “limited authority and cannot distribute it,” according to the BBC.
Payne’s accomplishments, as both a member of One Direction and a solo artist, earned him an estate worth £28 million. However, after paying off outstanding debts and expenses, the total was reduced to £24 million.
An insider told The Mail that Cole will most likely use Payne’s inheritance for their child.
“It is a small consolation that Bear will never want for anything, that he will at least benefit from that,” Cole reportedly said, according to the source. “Liam had some very sensible people around him for a time, and he adored Bear so much. He always wanted to do the right thing by him financially.”
Payne and Cole met on The X Factor in 2010, when he auditioned for the show and she was on the judging panel with Simon Cowell and Nicole Scherzinger. They began dating in 2016 and stayed together until 2018, welcoming their only child the year before their separation.
Kate Cassidy Looks Back on How She Found Out About Liam Payne’s Death
Kate Cassidy, Payne’s girlfriend, has not commented on his inheritance being given to his ex. Even six months after his death, though, he remains in her thoughts.
On the April 16 episode of Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast, she recalled hearing the news first from one of the singer’s friends, three days after she left Payne in Argentina.
Cassidy said she was at their shared home in Florida during this time and got a phone call from a worried friend.
The 26-year-old influencer said he asked her if Liam was okay because he had heard about the incident. At first, Cassidy thought nothing too serious had happened.
Somehow, Cassidy was under the impression that he was only suffering from broken ribs and tried not to think of the “worst-case scenario.”
Unfortunately, after moments of no clear updates, Cassidy said she called Payne’s friend again to find out what was truly happening.
“He was like, ‘The only update I’ve heard is that Liam’s ... dead,’” she told Shetty.
News of Payne falling from the third floor quickly spread to the public. Fans clamored for updates, especially his family and friends.
Cassidy remembered her phone getting flooded with messages and calls from people close to her, and even from those she “hadn’t spoken to in years.”
After Payne’s friend, who had called her first, told her “Liam’s not here anymore,” Cassidy still found it hard to process the truth.
“I still didn’t really believe it. I just kept saying, ‘No, no, no. Are you sure? He probably just ... broke a bone. He broke a rib. He broke something,’”
After a while, Payne’s death sank in, and that’s when she started breaking down. Thankfully, she wasn’t alone in dealing with the aftermath at the time.
Cassidy said on the podcast that her housekeeper came back to the home, even though she was already off-duty, and stayed with her to offer comfort and company.
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