Liam Payne died without leaving a will

Telegraph

07-05-2025

Liam Payne left a fortune of £24.3 million but died without writing a will, according to court documents.
The One Direction singer fell to his death from a Buenos Aires hotel room in October last year, aged 31.
Court documents from the Probate Registry show that Payne died intestate. His estate had a gross value of £28,594,888, and the net value amounts to £24,279,728
Payne granted power of administration of his estate to Cheryl Tweedy, his former partner and mother of his eight-year-old son, Bear. The second administrator is Richard Bray, an entertainment industry lawyer.
Under the rules of intestacy, the money can be placed in a trust for Bear until he turns 18.
Administration was granted by the High Court of Justice on May 1.
Lilly Toop, a private client solicitor at the law firm, Shakespeare Martineau, said his failure to write a will meant his partner, Ms Cassidy, would not inherit anything from him.
She said: 'UK law is very clear and without a will, estates are distributed according to a set of fixed rules.
'In Liam's case, his son Bear will inherit the entirety of his free estate in the UK, which will be put in a trust and managed until he becomes an adult. Liam's partner is not legally entitled to anything, despite being with the singer for two years prior to his death.'
A court in Argentina dropped charges in February of criminal negligence against three out of the five people who had been charged in connection with Payne's death.
The singer had found fame when Simon Cowell formed One Direction on the ITV talent show The X Factor in 2010.
Payne first auditioned in 2008 when he was 14, singing Frank Sinatra's Fly Me To The Moon, with Cowell telling him to return to the talent show two years later.
Payne died on October 16 last year after falling from a third-floor balcony.
Toxicology tests revealed traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in his body, according to the prosecutor's office of Argentina.
At the time of his death, Payne was in a relationship with Kate Cassidy, a US social media influencer. She said that the star had written her a note saying they would be engaged or married within a year.
Cassidy had been staying with Payne during their Argentinian trip but flew back to the US shortly before his death.
In a recent podcast interview, she discussed their last conversation. 'I remember sitting there with him and I was going on and on and on, and saying to Liam how much I love him. And he laughed and interrupted me, and said to me, 'Kate, you're going to miss your flight… you're acting like this is the last time you're ever going to see me again.'
'Just to even look back in time and really know that that was the last time I was ever going to see him again is just so chilling.'