Whitney Houston performs before winning for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 42nd annual Grammy Awards, in this file photo taken February 23, 2000. Houston has died, according to her publicist on February 11, 2012. She was 48.[Photo/Agencies]

Whitney Houston's secret 'son' is set to get a share of her £20 million fortune.

The 48-year-old singer - who died two weeks ago - took Nick Gordon into her home in Atlanta, Georgia, when he was a youngster to save him from his troubled background and while she never officially adopted him, she thought of him as her own.

Nick, 22 - who would call Whitney ''Mom'' - also became like a brother to the 'I Will Always Love You' hitmaker's 18-year-old daughter Bobbi Kristina.

And although Whitney - who battled drink and drug addiction - blew most of her fortune, she is believed to have left £20 million and her family say Nick will get a share.

A source told The Sun newspaper: ''Nick was family, she loved him as much as any mother could love a child. If he is not written into her will and everything goes to Bobbi then it will only be because it was written before she took Nick into her family.

''If that's the case, Bobbi will make sure Nick is taken care of because it's what her mom would have wanted and he's like a brother.''

Following Whitney's tragic death, Nick took to his twitter page to pay tribute to her.

He wrote: ''Rest in peace. Thank you for all your support. The legend will always and forever live on.''