I had an uncle who likewise was divorced. He had to pay child support and alimony, which he did faithfully.
His ex had a sister who also got divorced from her husband. He was a police officer. She made an allegation that he had sexually abused his kids. This was a huge scandal locally and was all over the news. After some time it was determined that the charges were groundless, but his life and career were already ruined.
My uncle saw this and did not want to take the risk of the sister he was married to doing the same. He continued to pay till his kids turned 18, but never had any further contact with them. He was too afraid.
At some point his ex remarried, which should have ended the alimony. Except that she neglected to tell the court. She had been married about two years when his attorney discovered by accident that she had gotten hitched again.
They dragged her to court. The judge gave a stern finger-wagging lecture about how she should have told them, but did not make her repay the money. He did however end the alimony.
She turned around and filed for an increase in child support that was EQUAL TO THE DOLLAR AMOUNT she had just lost in the revoked alimony.
The courts GAVE it to her.
Yup, horror stories abound and are seemingly the norm as opposed to a rarity
Our society is broken and the system is corrupt and is destroying the basis and foundation for a healthy relationship
The solution is to avoid the system by signing a a fair and mutually agreed to marriage dissolution contract before the wedding so if you don’t make it in the marriage, the dissolution is quick, as painless as possible and gets done without lawyers on both sides ending up with the bulk of everything you have built in your marriage
There really is no other way.