Is there a way to check if someone is legally married (UK)

[Ihateandilove]

Does anyone know how I can find out if someone is legally married in the UK?

my child’s father had a religious ceremony with his ‘wife’ but hid it from me (until she called to tell me end of last year and he denied it until she sent photos. She was also living with him and my child was calling her ‘mummy’ without my knowledge but that’s a different story).

He insists they are not legally married but I’d like to know for sure as it has implications for my son in the future.

thank you for your help.

It used to all be registered at The General Register Office.

I did check GRO but they only have births and deaths on registers and option to request a marriage certificate ate if you know date and location.

Just wondering if there is a way to actually check whether someone is or isn’t married

Ah, probably not then

GRO say you just need to know name and year not exact date

Was this a Muslim marriage.

There is an issue over Mosques that are not approved for civil marriages holding 'religious only' marriages so women in particular think they have a legal marriage but they dont.

No it was a Hindu ceremony

but he is just being very vague insisting he did it to keep his family happy and is not legally married.

in terms of inheritance- not sure if that will affect my son etc so I feel there should be an easy way to find out (there really isnt).

GRO couldn’t find the record of my son’s birth and I know that happened so not sure i would trust them anyway!

Ancestry and similar sites hold registers to 2005, but you won't find anything more recent than that available online.

Not really any of your business, is it?

It only affects your son's inheritance if he dies intestate. If he has a will (postdating the marriage) listing your son as his beneficiary - it won't matter that he's married.

He does not have a will.
he told me last weekend they are expecting a child later this year.

@catcatcat24 interesting but do you mind if I ask why you feel it’s none of my business? My child stays there 2 nights a week and I wasn’t aware there was an adult I didn’t know about living there who he was calling mummy. Isn’t it common courtesy to let the mother of a child know which adults are present around a child? And in that same thread, isn’t it respectful to tell your ex the truth about whether or not you are married to someone?

So even if he dies without a will, as he is named on the birth certificate, his son will still have a share of whatever he is owed?

because he is self employed and declares very little income for tax reasons. All his assets are tied up in bitcoin or other ways of hiding things from being taxed (he is a financial advisor). I don’t understand it but I know he declared salary of £9609 to child maintenance so I don’t get much despite him paying £3k rent and owning 4 luxury cars.

i suppose I just need to make sure I have enough savings for my family and leave him to get on with building his.