Does he have to pay the rent until DD is 18? Bigamy husband!!

[Tiddlypoo8]

Hi there
I'm newly separated due to finding out my husband of 4 years (we're together 11 total) was never divorced and still married & in touch with wife number 1.

Needless to say, no divorce needed as our marriage was null.
We have a 3 year old DD and renting (650 monthly) a 3 bed house.
At the moment he's still paying the rent, but I doubt this will be for long.

By common law wife rights/fatherly rights/bigamy marraige (or not) rights is he obliged to pay the rent until Dd is 18?

He pays £90 a week maintainance and seems to think that's all he has to do in order to be classed as a dad.

I know there's housing benefit, but obviously the lengthy process of changing my name on everything etc is difficult with the bigamy. Also it wouldn't cover all my rent because there are 2 of us living in a 3 bedroom house.
He's under police investigation.

Any advice?

[MoggyP]

No, he is not under any obligation to pay your rent unless you secure a specific court order compelling him to pay reasonable housing costs for your DD. That's not necessarily the same as paying for a specific property.

Given the rare (bigamous) circumstances and your reasonable belief that you were married and made subsequent decisions on that basis, you need proper legal advice.

[SillySongsWithLarry]

There is no such thing as common law wife. He will have to pay CMS rates as a minimum but if he was in any way decent he would pay above and beyond that. If you can't afford the rent with his maintenance taken into consideration you may have to consider downsizing.

[Summerholsdoingmyheadin]

Unfortunately he isn't obliged to pay the rent. You can ask for a child maintenance assessment if you think he earns enough to pay more than the £90 per week but there is now a fee for using the child maintenance service (or whatever it is now called) and it is even more useless than it was before.
Does he have any assets? Obviously you were not married so you can't get a share of assets in divorce proceedings but I would take legal advice on whether you can claim a share of any assets given that he 'married' you.

[RandomMess]

How horrendous for you

[Tiggeryoubastard]

No of course he isn't. He has to pay child maintenance but that's it.

[NerrSnerr]

I'm sorry this happened to you. No, he wouldn't be liable to pay your rent. You can claim through the CMS but you'll have to pay you're own rent.

[SharonfromEON]

The maintenance is to support your child..I agree your situation does require legal advice..

Yes apply for housing benefit , Apply for everything you are entitled too..

This guy clearly is not a guy of high morals so I wouldn't be expecting a lot from him voluntarily.

You may well need to downsize to..Sometimes it is worth looking before you are pushed if that makes sense.

[Fourormore]

The bigamy issue is a bit of a red herring. Even if you were married, unless he had a very high income, he wouldn't be obliged to pay your rent.

[Waltermittythesequel]

He pays £90 a week maintainance and seems to think that's all he has to do in order to be classed as a dad..

Unfortunately, money has nothing to do with whether he's her dad or not.

He doesn't have to pay anything other than maintenance.