New court documents in England and Wales confirm that former One Direction member Liam Payne died without a valid will. Under local inheritance law, his only child, 9-year-old Bear Grey, is set to inherit the singer’s entire estate.
Payne died in October 2024 at age 31 after falling from a third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Eight months later, official filings put the gross value of his estate at about $38 million, or roughly 112 million shekels. After debts and legal costs, the net value is estimated at $32.2 million, about 94 million shekels.
Because Payne was not married and left no will, his partner at the time of his death, Kate Cassidy, and other extended family members are not entitled to an automatic share. British government guidance says unmarried partners do not inherit automatically in such cases.
The court has appointed Cheryl Cole, Bear’s mother and Payne’s former partner, together with music lawyer Richard Mark Bray, as estate administrators. They were formally named on 1 May with limited authority to manage the assets through the legal process. Since Bear is a minor, Cole is expected to set up a trust for him, with the estate held under court supervision until he reaches adulthood.
Payne had been in Argentina to attend a concert by former bandmate Niall Horan and had posted about wanting to mend their relationship. Police were called to the hotel after reports of a disruptive man possibly under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and he was pronounced dead shortly afterward. Fans later gathered outside the hotel to mourn. Payne rose to global fame in 2010 on The X Factor, where One Direction was formed with Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson. He also struggled with suicidal thoughts and alcohol addiction, had previously been hospitalized with a severe kidney infection, and in the period before his death had faced legal action from ex-girlfriend Maya Henry and split from his management team, while shelving his second album.
