Liam Payne’s young son, Bear, has been named the sole beneficiary of the One Direction alum’s estate, nearly two years after the pop star fatally plunged from a hotel balcony in South America.
The little boy, nine, was bequeathed nearly US$28mil, the majority of which will be held in a trust until he’s 18, according to legal documents obtained Monday by TMZ.
At the time of his tragic death, the lawyer Richard Bray and Bear’s mum, the singer Cheryl, were named the administrators of Payne’s estate.
The crooner was just 31 when he died intestate in October 2024, after he fell from the balcony of Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A toxicology report in the weeks after his death showed that Payne had died with alcohol, cocaine, and a prescription antidepressant in his system.
Local authorities, according to a translation, said, “would also rule out the possibility of a conscious or voluntary act on the part of the victim.”
In late December 2024, five people were charged in Payne’s death, among them four hotel workers and Payne’s friend, Rogelio Nores, for having allegedly provided the singer the drugs that made him a danger to himself. Charges have since been dismissed against three, including Nores — all of whom were accused of negligence.
In early 2025, Dr. Roberto Victor Cohen attributed Payne’s death to multiple traumatic injuries, also known as poly trauma.
Speaking at a pre-inquest review hearing last month, a senior coroner said he still lacked sufficient evidence to definitively ascertain the cause of Payne’s death, per BBC News. The next such hearing is set for Dec. 1. - New York Daily News/TNS
