I know some guys who have gotten the shaft big time. One of my ex wings got nailed for so much in temperary support and stuff that it actually was more than he was earning! He and his attorny pointed this out and the judge said for him to take a loan lol
Later when the case was finally settled, his 401k got raided and all kinds of things even though custody was split 50/50. My own experience was far different, I actually got paid for the house and paid not one penny myself.
A lot of this depends on the setup, if you have a traditional family with kids and the stay at home mom, then the court is going to ream you a new one in the event of a divorce. She's dependent on you for support and has no marketable skills, so says the court anyway, and so you're going to be on the hook for a long, long time.
The best way I know of to avoid this situation, short of never marrying or having kids, is to set things up where both people are contributing financially and child rearing wise to the relationship. If you sense divorce is a possibility, then all those savings, stalks, etc you have shored up during the marriage are going to be cut in half so you might as well live the good life off it while you can
Prenups are a good idea if you'll be bringing a lot preexisting resources into the marriage. Also if you own your own business it is usually possible to rearrange personal vacations and such into legitimate business opportunities and such so that your salary doesn't look bigger than it truly is. For child support enforcement the situation is trickier than avoiding maintennance, as maintennance can be avoided entirely or you can even get it depending in the marriage's financial configuration and history. First of all, if you are concerned about this you need to be seeking primary custody (or at least joint custody, although I've heard some states prefer to appoint a primary custodian if both won't agree to this), Second, they are going to base the amount paid on your recent salary. Although this amount can be altered at predefined times (like say every 2 years) most people won't bother modifying the agreement, so it could behoove you to actually make less than you think possible during from the time child support can be anticipated until judgement occurs. I've never had this happen so I am not sure of the reporting process for financial changes and it probably varies a lot by state anyway. Finally, and I would never recommend someone intentionally do this, but obviously they have to know where you are in order to get a support agreement enforced. Many countries have reciprocal agreements with the US, so just because you're in France doesn't mean you can send her a postcard and not expect to have some missing figures in your next paycheck
