Liam Payne’s son has been named the sole beneficiary of the legendary singer’s estate.
According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Bear Grey Payne has been awarded the One Direction star’s estate, totaling nearly $28 million.
Documents reveal some of the money can be used now, but most of it must be held in a trust until Bear, now 9, turns 18.
Liam and his ex-partner Cheryl Cole welcomed a son in March 2017. More than seven years later, the former One Direction member died at the age of 31 after falling to his death at a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Cole, 42, and music lawyer Richard Bray were named as administrators of Liam’s estate after it was revealed the singer did not have a will at the time of his death.
“Liam was not only a pop star and celebrity, he was a son, a brother, an uncle, a dear friend and father to our 7 year old son,” Cole wrote via Instagram just days after Liam’s death in October 2024. “A son that now has to face the reality of never seeing his father again.”
She continued, “What is troubling my spirit the most is that one day, Bear will have access to the abhorrent reports and media exploitation we have seen. … It is breaking my heart further that I cannot protect him from that in his future.”
Cole has tried to raise her son privately and away from social media. In a rare Instagram post, however, she documented a trip to Walt Disney World with Bear for an unforgettable trip.
“Somewhere in the corners of the world Magic still exists 💫✨🪄,” she wrote in April. “I don’t know what took me so long to experience the joys of @waltdisneyworld but I completely escaped into my inner child for the last couple of weeks. What a wonderful place 🥰.”
Since Liam’s death, Louis Tomlinson has shined a light on One Direction’s closer bond as they navigate grief and the loss of their friend.
“Naturally, there is a closeness — it definitely feels closer than it was,” Tomlinson, 34, told Billboard in January. “But I think we’re all so busy, it’s hard to keep that consistency. It also depends person to person. Like, Niall [Horan] — and hopefully he’d say the same about me — we could not exchange a text in a whole year and then go for a beer and literally be chatting nonstop.”
Last month, Horan, 32, honored Liam in his latest song “End of an Era.”
“We had it, pure magic / Remembering what it was like / Time passes so fast that / I couldn’t tell you goodbye,” Horan opened the track. “Feels like letting go of / Things we’re not supposed to / One breath and it’s over / The end of an era.”
