Seeking, I thought NYS was a state that the woman had all the rights when it comes to a D. I know of one man in particular that his xw ended up with much of his money while he ended up losing most everything and got the bills too. FIB was the poster, he has a thread in Surviving now but doesn't post much. He is on FB too, but I'm not very handy at figuring out who is who over there to help people link. I think it would benefit you to do some research and lawyer up.
Live your life while you are still living. Riding the trail less traveled.