What happens if you die without a will as Liam Payne's final fortune is revealed in court documents

Following his death last year, it has been revealed that Liam Payne did not have a will, leaving behind a £24 million fortune.

Payne, 31, had been in Buenos Aires, Argentina, when he fell from a hotel balcony in October, with the postmortem reports revealing that the singer had died of multiple traumas as well as 'internal and external haemorrhage' sustained by the fall.

Payne's funeral was held in Amersham, UK, in November, with his One Direction bandmates, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson, ex-girlfriend Cheryl and their eight-year-old son, Bear, were all in attendance.

Yesterday, it was revealed that the singer had not issued a will before his death, so the future of his money and estate were left in the hands of the court.

According to court documents, Payne's final figure of £24,280,000 will be handed to ex Cheryl and music lawyer, Richard Bray, with both being granted power of administration.

Payne's girlfriend Kate Cassidy isn't expected to inherit anything (DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images)

Who inherits if someone dies without making a will?

The general rule for someone's money and estate is for it to go to the person's spouse or civil partner, however, Payne was not married at the time of his death - this means his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, will also not inherit anything.

Liam and Cheryl were also never married and only dated between 2016 and 2018.

Unsurprisingly, rules are already in place in scenarios such as this, with the 'rules of intestacy' identifying Payne as an 'intestate person’.

According to Citizen's Advice, if the estate value is higher than £322,000, then it would be shared between a spouse and any children.

Cheryl is the mother to Payne's son, Bear, and when the 'administration period' proceeds, she and Bray will be responsible for distributing the money, so it is expected that some will go into a trust fund for Bear, which he will then be able to take control of and access himself when he comes of age.

There are lots of laws and rules if you don't leave a will behind (Getty Stock)

In the case where you leave behind a fortune of less than £322,000, however, the children of the deceased wouldn't inherit anything if there was a living partner.

Of course, that could later be divided between themselves, but other laws and taxes would also then come into play.

What if you have no living relatives?

Well, in this case, things become even more hectic because, as per the rules of intestacy, the estate would then pass to the Crown - this process is called 'bona vacantia'.

From then on, the Treasury is in charge, and the Crown can also make grants from your estate, but they don't have to agree to them.

In other scenarios

Other rules can also apply, whether it comes to rejecting inheritance, changing who gets what and how grandchildren can benefit, but most of them rely on family largely agreeing on everything - unlike any sort of Knives Out situation.

In the case that you can't inherit but feel like you've got good grounds to, then the same rule applies.

However, if the death has left you in a worse position, then it could be taken to court, in which case it'll will be their decision whether you are entitled to inherit anything.