- 12 -
applicable and the general rules of section 402(a)(1) and (13)
apply.5 See Smith v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1996-292.
Against this backdrop, several cases have addressed the
meaning of "distributee". In Darby v. Commissioner, supra, which
dealt with a 1983 plan distribution, we held that a distribution
from a qualified profit-sharing plan pursuant to a provision in a
State court divorce decree was taxable in its entirety to the
husband-employee even though he paid a portion of the
distribution to his former wife in accordance with the decree.
On the basis of "the statutory matrix which the Congress
understood and modified in the Retirement Equity Act of 1984",
id. at 59, the Court concluded that "a distributee of a
distribution under a plan ordinarily is the participant or
beneficiary who, under the plan, is entitled to receive the
distribution." Id. at 58 (emphasis added). The Court stated the
following:
A conclusion that "distributee" means "participant
(or beneficiary) under the plan" appears to be
consistent with Congress' understanding when it enacted
REA '84 and TRA '86. We do not have to decide in the
instant case whether that is the definitive or only
meaning of "distributee". * * *
Id. at 66. The Court also found that the term "distributee" is
not synonymous with either "recipient" or "owner", and that the
5 Sec. 402(a)(9) is now sec. 402(e)(1)(A).
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