"Although divorce, custody, and/or child support litigation touches the lives of roughly half of American children and their parents, there are widespread misconceptions regarding what happens when parents separate. One of the deepest misconceptions stems from the fact that the 50 U.S. states use the same word, "divorce," for wildly different processes and outcomes.
Consider a couple where each spouse earns $100,000 per year. "Divorce" in New York means one adult will become the "winner parent," enjoy the company of the children 83 percent of the time, and be roughly $1 million wealthier than the other parent by having received $500,000 in tax-free child support payments.
"Divorce" in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Nevada, or Pennsylvania, however, would mean a 50/50 equal parenting situation and no cash transfer from one parent to the other. The New York couple might spend $500,000 on legal fees before one was declared the winner; the Arizona or Nevada couple would be done for less than $10,000."
http://www.realworlddivorce.com/Introduction
Consider a couple where each spouse earns $100,000 per year. "Divorce" in New York means one adult will become the "winner parent," enjoy the company of the children 83 percent of the time, and be roughly $1 million wealthier than the other parent by having received $500,000 in tax-free child support payments.
"Divorce" in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Nevada, or Pennsylvania, however, would mean a 50/50 equal parenting situation and no cash transfer from one parent to the other. The New York couple might spend $500,000 on legal fees before one was declared the winner; the Arizona or Nevada couple would be done for less than $10,000."
http://www.realworlddivorce.com/Introduction