Family law in California

1. California does not require any legal separation before divorce filing. I only remember that North Carolina needs such requirement. This is certainly not the case in California. To file, it does not matter one spouse does not want to divorce. There is only a requirement of 6 month cooling period before a judgment.
2. Based on what you said, that you make $50000 a year and your hu*****and makes (I assume) $1000000 a year. If you have 100% custody of the children, roughly you will get $1312 per month in child support. This amount will be deducted from your hu*****and's paycheck each month, mandatorily.
3. It will take about $2500 (roughly) for the whole process, if you go with contested divorce.