Can I become a single mother if my husband is not my child's biological father?

This question is kind of all over the map, but I can answer it. First, the fact that you married your husband while pregnant with another man's child may not prevent your husband from having any parental rights and obligations to the child relinquished in the process of divorce. Your husband *must* raise the issue of his not being the biological parent of the child *in the divorce action* and ensure that the court declares him not to be the legal father of the child *before* the divorce is granted. If the question of paternity is not resolved prior to issuance of the decree of divorce, the law in Utah is that your husband would be deemed, as a matter of law, the father of the child, even if he's not the biological father. There may be more to this situation of yours than meets the eye, but when you ask about how this paternity issue could affect your qualifying for alimony, I don't really understand. You clearly cannot get child support from a man who is not declared legally to be the father of the child, if that's your question and if you were confusing child support with the term alimony. Alimony itself in Utah is based upon the need of the person claiming or wanting alimony and the ability of the other spouse to pay alimony. It is not much dependent upon child custody, although that can be a factor the court considers in awarding alimony.

You should hire an attorney to guide you through these matters. You may be able to have your husband's name removed - but you may also need to name the real father in order to do so. Whether you can ask for alimony depends on a number of factors. The most important are the length of the marriage and the disparity in incomes but there are other things courts look at when considering a claim for alimony as well. I can't give any more definite reply that that without knowing much more about your situation.

If your husband is not the child's father, he needs to file a denial of paternity and the actual father needs to file a parentage action. Alimony has nothing to do with the child, but has to do with your need and your husband's ability to pay. You will need to get a job to support this child because if your husband isn't the father, he won't have to pay support and if he is or the actual father is required to pay support, your income is part of the calculation. If you don't have any the court will impute income to you.

You should see any attorney. He will be considered the putative father for child support purposes.