Hello. I am divorced in the State of WI which is also a community property state. My situation is different of course -- but also similar in that I paid a large lump sum PLUS 6 years of alimony at 3,000 per month to have a "cap" or limit. I am the owner of a family business. XAW is 44 years old and there was a possibility that she could have pursued "alimony for life" which scared me into paying more up front in order to have closure and a limit to the liability.
Alimony is deductible to the payer and taxable to the receiver, that is one bonus I'm sure you can appreciate as a business owner.
This is worth only 0.02 so please take it for nothing, but I personally don't think you should pay hundreds of thousands and be relatively broke, simply out of fear that XAH may possibly get his hooks into you for alimony. This is morbid, but if he is an alcoholic, the odds are, he will die young.
Cash is king. If you can keep 6 figures in your savings account, you will enjoy a better quality of life even if you do have a vulture XAH lurking in the shadows. Or maybe make him a low ball offer, something significant, maybe 100K as a reasonable compromise, but don't give away all your money. Like you said, maybe YOU should be getting compensation from HIM. Your worst case scenario is only one possible scenario.