Filing with your spouse means you might get entangled with their problems...

The Tax Code allows for some types of debts to be paid by using proceeds from a tax refund.  This might seem OK at first, if both of you owe the money, but it may be unfair if only your spouse is responsible for the debt.  Since you filed taxes jointly, the IRS will take your joint refund - meaning that money you were expecting can be taken to pay bills you are not liable for.  In this case, you might be what the IRS calls an "Injured Spouse".

An Injured Spouse can get their share of the refund back, but...

• The burden of proof is on you to justify how much of the refund is yours
• Your prior tax returns are needed to justify your refund amount.  If you don't have them, I can obtain IRS records for you