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ordered by a court, child support survives the death of the payee
custodial parent and continues as an obligation of the payor
noncustodial parent. In re Marriage of McCann, 32 Cal. Rptr.2d
639 (Ct. App. 1994); In re Marriage of Gregory, 281 Cal. Rptr.
188 (Ct. App. 1991). Recently, in Ambrose v. Commissioner, T.C.
Memo. 1996-128, we addressed a question concerning California
family support. In that case, the taxpayer (the ex-wife) had
argued that a part of the family support payments received by her
was not alimony because, under California law, a noncustodial
parent’s obligation for child support is not terminated upon
death of the custodial parent (the ex-wife). The taxpayer was
relying on the fact that cessation of payments on the death of
the payee spouse is a necessary element of alimony. Sec.
71(b)(1)(D). We said that, to be successful, the ex-wife would
have to show that a portion of the family support payments
received by her would survive her death. We found against the
ex-wife based on our holding that California law does not provide
for the segregation of unallocated or undifferentiated child and
spousal support payments (i.e., family support). An examination
of the California cases we relied on, which dealt with the
remarriage, not the death, of the payee spouse, Danz v. Danz, 216
P.2d 162 (Cal. Ct. App. 1950); Hale v. Hale, 45 P.2d 246 (Cal.
Ct. App. 1935), shows that the trial courts could have continued
2(...continued)
Ct. 1993).
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