If you have a contract, you're already well ahead of the game. Most contracts will include all of this sort of stuff for you, and all you have to do with non-payers is wave a threatening legal letter at them.
If there's no contract, the best that you can do is a cash leash (when they go over $x overdue, work stops) and set it low enough that you can cut them loose without losing your house.
That's right, but it would increase your cost of litigation substantially, since you'll have a much longer court case trying to prove that.
It's not something that you really want to rely on.
edit: Just an addendum - most of the deadbeat weasel clients know that verbal contracts don't carry a lot of weight, so the threat of being able to sue is really the important part. (Ideally you refuse the deadbeats upfront, but it's hard to tell sometimes)
If there's no contract, the best that you can do is a cash leash (when they go over $x overdue, work stops) and set it low enough that you can cut them loose without losing your house.
My take on dealing with "Squirrel" clients here: http://teh.oarsum.com/posts/you_are_all_squirrels.html