"Even the best-educated people have misconceptions about divorce that hinder their ability to make critical life decisions. In "When every relationship is above average" (Law and Human Behavior, August 1993), law professor Lynn Baker and psychology professor Robert Emery surveyed 137 young Virginians who had applied for marriage licenses. Answers to questions regarding divorce law were correct only 60 percent of the time: "... those who are about to be married have largely incorrect perceptions of the legal terms of the marriage contract as embodied in divorce statutes. … This systematic optimism [about their own chances for remaining married] means that young adults are unlikely to investigate the terms of the marriage contract embodied in divorce statutes until they begin having marital difficulties."
We conducted our own research in this area with 33 in-person interviews in Harvard Square. Interviewees had been in Massachusetts for at least five years and had at least a bachelor's degree (60 percent had an advanced degree, including one person with a law degree and one person in law school). Interviewees ranged in age from 28 to 74 with a median of 44. The male/female ratio was 40/60.
Their median estimate of the maximum child support obtainable from a one-night encounter with a very wealthy very high-income person was $1750 per month (correct answer: unlimited and dependent on the judge, but certainly at least $8,000 per month). The licensed lawyer estimated $1500 per month, less than half of the official guideline amount for a defendant earning $250,000 per year. The median estimate of the maximum age through which child support could be obtained was 19.4 (correct answer: 23).
Forty-five percent of surveyed citizens incorrectly believed that child support had to be spent on a child's actual expenses (including the law student, but not the licensed lawyer). Sixty-four percent of surveyed citizens incorrectly believed that Massachusetts statutes and customs favored 50/50 shared parenting. Seventy-one percent of surveyed citizens incorrectly believed that, when both parents had similar incomes, obtaining custody of a child and collecting child support under the guidelines would not be profitable.""
http://www.realworlddivorce.com/Introduction
We conducted our own research in this area with 33 in-person interviews in Harvard Square. Interviewees had been in Massachusetts for at least five years and had at least a bachelor's degree (60 percent had an advanced degree, including one person with a law degree and one person in law school). Interviewees ranged in age from 28 to 74 with a median of 44. The male/female ratio was 40/60.
Their median estimate of the maximum child support obtainable from a one-night encounter with a very wealthy very high-income person was $1750 per month (correct answer: unlimited and dependent on the judge, but certainly at least $8,000 per month). The licensed lawyer estimated $1500 per month, less than half of the official guideline amount for a defendant earning $250,000 per year. The median estimate of the maximum age through which child support could be obtained was 19.4 (correct answer: 23).
Forty-five percent of surveyed citizens incorrectly believed that child support had to be spent on a child's actual expenses (including the law student, but not the licensed lawyer). Sixty-four percent of surveyed citizens incorrectly believed that Massachusetts statutes and customs favored 50/50 shared parenting. Seventy-one percent of surveyed citizens incorrectly believed that, when both parents had similar incomes, obtaining custody of a child and collecting child support under the guidelines would not be profitable.""
http://www.realworlddivorce.com/Introduction