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Liam Payne’s son Bear may not receive his £24m inheritance until he is 25 years old because his mother Cheryl Tweedy wants him to make “informed decisions about money”, according to reports.
The One Director singer who first found fame through the X Factor, died at the age of 31 after falling from the third floor balcony of his hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 16 October 2024. A UK inquest found the star died of “polytrauma”.
At the time of his death, Payne had amassed a fortune of £28,595,000, but died without a will. This figure was reduced significantly to £24,280,000 after expenses and debts were paid in the aftermath of his passing.
Court documents, seen by The Independent, showed that Tweedy, with whom he shared one eight-year-old son, Bear, had been appointed as one of the administrators of his estate.
Assets and funds could have been held in a trust for his son until Bear became an adult at the age of 18.
However, Tweedy would like this to be delayed further until their son is well into his twenties.
“Cheryl wants to protect Bear and is going to stop him receiving Liam’s inheritance until he’s at least 25 years old, if not older,” a source close to Tweedy told The Sun.
“She feels she wants Bear to be of an age where he can make informed decisions about the money. There are lots of conversations ongoing and Cheryl may even allow the money to be given only in chunks throughout his late 20s and 30s.
"She wants him to still have ambition and the drive to succeed without the back-up of the money — and she’s aware that people may want to befriend him because they are aware of his situation.”
In a move to protect the significant amount, Tweedy hopes to invest the wealth until Bear is of the “right age”.
“Cheryl has spoken to the trustees and the money will be invested until Bear is of the right age to start receiving some of it,” the source explained.
The pair first met on The X Factor in 2008, when Liam was aged 14, and Tweedy was married to her now ex-husband and footballer Ashley Cole. Payne and Tweedy confirmed their relationship in 2016, shortly after Tweedy’s split from her second husband Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini.
They welcomed their first child in 2017 with Payne calling the birth of Bear his “favourite memory” of his life. At the time of his death, Payne was in a relationship with influencer Kate Cassidy, who he met in October 2022.
Due to British laws of intestacy, which govern the affairs of those who die without a will, a deceased person’s estate is usually passed on to their lawful spouse or their nearest blood relative. Top music lawyer Richard Bray was also named administrator alongside Tweedy.
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