William C. and Katherine H. White - Page 7

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          which exemption claims were released, (2) years for which the               
          claims were released, (3) signature of the custodial parent, (4)            
          Social Security number of the custodial parent, (5) date of                 
          signature, and (6) name and Social Security number of the parent            
          claiming the exemption.                                                     
               In this case, the Court finds that the November 6, 1989,               
          letter signed by Ms. White fails to "conform to the substance" of           
          Form 8332.  Sec. 1.152-4T(a), Q&A-3, Temporary Income Tax Regs.             
          The letter fails to state the years in which Ms. White was                  
          releasing the claims for exemption, nor does the letter state the           
          Social Security numbers of either parent.  Most importantly, the            
          letter fails to explicitly state that Ms. White would not claim             
          Christopher and Allison as dependents.  In fact, for 1992, Ms.              
          White did claim the children as dependents.  The letter relied on           
          by petitioner is essentially nothing more than a restatement of             
          the divorce decree.  It has no other meaning or significance.               
          While the Court sympathizes with petitioner and understands                 
          petitioner's intentions in having Ms. White sign the letter                 
          prepared by him, unfortunately, the requirements of section                 
          152(e)(2)(A) have not been met in this case.                                
               Although petitioner's divorce decree provides that he is               
          entitled to the dependency exemptions for the two children, State           
          courts, by their decisions, cannot determine issues of Federal              
          tax law.  Commissioner v. Tower, 327 U.S. 280 (1946); Kenfield v.           





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