Q: I have been living with my girlfriend for almost two years she has a 5 year old from a previous boyfriend
And we have a 6 week old boy however our relationship is not great and i think i should move out my obligation to my son is first do i have any other legal obligation here
A:
Let's break it down:
-to your son: you are, presumably, the legal father and will remain legally obligated to him. This means there will likely be a child support obligation to follow. Be sure you are the acknowledged father, otherwise you'll need to establish paternity before you have any obligations to your son.
-to your residence: are you on the lease or deed? If not, then you don't have any legal obligation here. If you are, then you are likely joint and severally liable for any rent and other obligations. This means if you move out, and your girlfriend fails to pay the rent, the landlord is going to have a problem with you and her.
-to your girlfriend: No. The benefit and curse of not being legally married is that either of you can walk away at any time, with no obligation to the other. Of course, you can do that when married too. However, within a marriage, property is considered joint or marital, unless it's shown otherwise; without a legal marriage, you have no automatic claim or right to property you may consider jointly owned. If you bought furniture together, for example, and you move out thinking you'll take the couch with you, think again, because if she disagrees, the couch is staying with her; even if you can show receipts, you'll just need to consider it a gift you made to her.
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