Filing a joint return in the US in no way implies financial unity. It just means your income is pooled for tax calculation purposes, that’s it (and only federal

Filing a joint return in the US in no way implies financial unity. It just means your income is pooled for tax calculation purposes, that’s it (and only federal, you can often file separately in the same or different states). There are community property states, which NY is not. It gets hairy just about anywhere if a marriage is ended.