Cheryl Tweedy’s friends have declared she ‘will do the right thing’ for her son Bear after it was revealed the eight-year-old will inherit the entirety of his dad Liam Payne’s £24 million estate.
The One Direction singer died last October at the age of 31, after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
He was later laid to rest on November 20, surrounded by his loved ones, including his former bandmates and ex-girlfriend, Cheryl – who he shares son Bear with.
Earlier this week it was reported that Payne died ‘intestate’, meaning he didn’t leave a will and plans for how his money should be distributed.
According to court documents via The Sun, he is thought to have left around £28,595,000, with the final figure dropping to £24,280,000 after expenses and debts were paid off.
The outlet reports that Cheryl was granted power of administration, alongside music lawyer Richard Bray.
UK intestacy rules state that usually married partners, civil partners, and some relatives can inherit the deceased’s fortune after their death.
This means that, although Payne was in a relationship with girlfriend Kate Cassidy, they were not married or in a civil partnership, meaning she could receive nothing.
It is thought that his eight-year-old son will inherit his entire estate, which may reportedly be placed into a trust.
Now, sources close to Cheryl have insisted ‘she will always do the right thing by her beloved son’.
‘It is a small consolation that Bear will never want for anything, that he will at least benefit from that,’ one source told the Daily Mail.
‘Liam had some very sensible people around him for a time and he adored Bear so much. He always wanted to do the right thing by him financially.’
A few hours after the news of the will was revealed, Kate didn’t seem too concerned and shared a photo from the inside of her handbag to her 900,000 followers, which showed a sandwich from Starbucks and some hair extensions.
Payne and Cheryl welcomed their only child together in March 2017, after a year of dating.
They called time on their romance the following year but remained close for the sake of their son, and made it a priority to keep him shielded from the spotlight.
The X Factor icon died on October 16 while spending time in Argentina – Cassidy was on holiday with him, but had left the trip early to return to Florida.
The influencer has spoken out after the tragedy and recently shed light on their last conversation before she left for her flight.
During an appearance on the On Purpose podcast, she told the host that Payne said: ‘You’re acting like this is the last time you are ever going to see me again.’
‘I remember sitting there with him and I was going on and on and on about how much I love him,’ she recalled.
‘He laughed and interrupted me and was like, “Kate, you’re going to miss your flight, your car is in the driveway. You’re acting like this is the last time you’re ever going to see me again.”
‘I just laughed back I was like, “I know I’m being silly, I need to get in the car, I can’t miss my flight.”
‘To look back in time and know that that was the last time I was ever going to see him again is just so chilling. But in a way, I think that the way that we said goodbye to each other, I’m so blessed, and that’s where I get the peace from it, that it was that heartfelt.
‘Our last goodbye, I wouldn’t have wanted it to be any differently.’
She added: ‘I’m so glad that we had that last beautiful moment together.’
Metro has contacted representatives for Liam Payne, Cheryl Cole and Richard Bray for a comment.
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