Partner Of 14 Years Ended Lease Without My Knowledge, Move Out Date Is Monday. What Are My Options? Texas

Location: Texas

I have been a stay at home mom for four years with my 3.5 year old and 11 year old. I have been financially dependent on my partner for this entire time. We are not legally married, but he has filed his taxes as head of household and claimed me as a dependent. I do believe we qualify as common law married in Texas. The sole purpose of me staying home and not working was to provide childcare.

Last week, my partner let me know that he had ended our lease and our move out date was this weekend. I have been packing under the assumption that he would provide a storage unit for our belongings (he is moving in with his mom and she does not want me there) but he has informed me that he will not be doing that so I don’t even think I’ll be able to take anything that doesn’t fit in my car.

I reviewed the lease and he never listed me as an adult residing in the house. My youngest child is also not on the lease because it was signed before he was born. I believe if I stay past the end of the lease, they will be able to remove me without a formal eviction using Texas Property Code 24B as an unauthorized tenant. I don’t want to get into any legal trouble or have a big dramatic scene so I will likely just leave on that day.

I do not have anywhere to go, have less than $10 in my personal bank account (he usually just transferred money to my account if I needed it and we mostly used his cards for groceries etc) and obviously cannot care for my children while homeless. This entire situation seems very calculated, as he knew I wouldn’t be able to take the kids without having a place to go. He will be taking both kids with him.

As an unmarried partner, do I have any rights here or am I just shit out of luck? Do I really have to just throw away all of my things? Is it considering abandoning my children if I become homeless, and will he be able to legally take full custody of my kids? Can I get any sort of spousal support if I don’t have the children with me?

I know these are probably real lawyer questions, but again, I was financially dependent on him and have no money to be able to hire anyone. This is out of nowhere for me as I did not even think the relationship was on the verge of ending.