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the IRS enclosing the Form 872 extensions. Mrs. Walker stated that she
had noted and was aware that the letters were addressed to both her
and Mr. Walker. She discussed the letters with Mr. Walker and was told
by him that they had to sign the Forms 872, which she did.
Mrs. Walker should have been aware her tax liabilities were under
investigation. Yet, she never intimated to the various taxpayer
representatives who represented her and Mr. Walker during the course
of the examinations the Internal Revenue Service conducted of Mr. and
Mrs. Walker's returns, or to the attorneys who prepared her and Mr.
Walker's petition in the instant cases, that she had not signed or
intended to file joint returns with Mr. Walker.
It was only in October 1993, over 42 months after Mr. and Mrs.
Walker's petition had been filed, that Mrs. Walker first raised any
claim that the 1978, 1979, 1980, and 1981 returns were not joint
returns. This assertion was made over 11 years after the 1981 return
was filed and was merely an afterthought. This Court has previously
rejected such delayed attempts to disavow a joint return. O'Connor v.
Commissioner, 412 F.2d 304, 309-310 (2d Cir. 969) (finding of joint
returns upheld where 15-year delay occurred before taxpayers
challenged Commissioner's view of the returns), affg. in part and
revg. in part and remanding T.C. Memo. 1967-174; Estate of Campbell v.
Commissioner, 56 T.C. 1, 14 (1971) (late attempt to discredit joint
return "appears to us to be merely an afterthought"); Federbush v.
Commissioner, supra; see also Alioto v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1994-
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