I am currently in process of separating from my partner. We are not married and we have a 4 year old daughter together. The house is his and he pays all the bills but I have been paying monthly towards his mortgage for the last year and before that when I started work again I paid an amount monthly off his mortgage for a couple of years but nothing towards bills. ( an agreement he was happy to do as he earns double what I do and has no car or fuel to pay as he gets them through his work ) I had to go back to work on a lesser part time contract so I could look after our daughter. He always said the house was mine too but of course now we are separating that is not the case.
The problem I have is that Im struggling to afford to move into anywhere half decent round where his house is ( all I can afford is a one bed flat with no garden ) There fore I am considering relocating 140 miles away to where my sister lives and her family. I can afford a 3 bed house there with a garden and my sister would help with child care and school pick ups while I am working. ( I need someone who can have my daughter overnight as I work night shifts )
The main reason for moving is so I can afford a decent house there. He has said that I am ruining my daughters life by moving ( she hasn't started school yet she starts Sept ) and that I am taking her away from him and his family. ( my family are dotted around the UK and I moved to his area when we had our daughter where I knew no one )
He wont help me financially at all to try and stay in the area and I feel so at a loss as what to do. ( he also said he would leave his current job if we split so he wouldn't pay me maintence but think that was just a angry knee jerk reaction to me saying I wanted to leave )
I am currently still in the house separate bedrooms but its getting bad with the tension and arguments and don't want my daughter to witness it all. Basically AIBU to move away ? He is suggesting I leave my daughter with him at the house and I go and live in a one bed flat ? I have no problem with giving him full access for whatever weekends and holidays he wants and will drive half way to meet him. He does however work 6 days a week and every Sat as has a day off in the week so makes the weekends harder for him. How much rights does he have to say he will keep our daughter living with him rather than with me ?