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win. Both the IRS and Petitioner won 50%, therefore Petitioner
files for � of his costs & time."
Even if petitioner had put forth a substantive argument, he
would not be entitled to administrative and litigation costs in
this case. In the notice of deficiency, the Government took the
position that petitioner was liable for 50 percent of the taxes
due upon the sale of his marital home. That position was taken
because petitioner and his wife jointly owned the home, and the
divorce court had not changed the ownership of the property in
the property settlement accompanying the divorce decree. Under
Michigan law, unless the divorce decree provides otherwise, upon
their divorce, married property owners become tenants in common.
Mich. Stat. Ann. sec. 25.132 (Law. Co-op. 1992).
Shortly before the case was submitted to the Court, the
Government conceded half of the deficiency relying, in error, on
Friscone v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1996-193. In Friscone, the
divorce court, constrained by a buy-sell agreement, divided
ownership of stock between two divorcing spouses beneficially, by
allocating the proceeds and the tax liability, rather than
directly. Id. We subsequently held that the stock should be
treated for tax purposes as though it had been divided outright.
Id. The Government mistakenly believed that the private
agreement petitioner and his ex-wife entered into was entitled to
the same consideration. In Urbauer v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo.
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