UL, I agree with everything Ready and Sachat said. Although I wish you didn't have to waste your money paying off your irresponsible MLCer's debts from 2014, I'm glad in a way that the debt appeared so that you did not rush into a purchase that might have caused you much more trouble related to your H and his dealings. I am in a similar boat to you: 6 years later, still paying for stuff that my H should have contributed to, not being able to buy what I need because of it. I admire you paying off those 2014 taxes and just saying enough of the tie. You make me want to do the same. These MLCers are leaky buckets with chains. They will sink us if we allow them to. I wish to do the same as you have done, life within my own means without my H's contribution, even if that means living in a small apartment and not the kind of house I would have desired. I'm beginning to realize how much there is to gain by living in peace, as opposed to living in an ideal house but having it come with strings I can't control.
I hope this decision to clean up these 2014 taxes (which are not really yours to pay), will give you a clean slate on which to begin a MLC trouble free life.