- 6 -
entitled to a deduction under section 165. Accordingly, we
sustain respondent on this issue.
2. Legal Expenses
Petitioner filed for divorce from her former husband, Donald
Summer, in September 1986. The divorce proceedings were
acrimonious, and petitioner and Mr. Summer disputed the property
of the marital estate. As a result, petitioner, Mr. Summer, and
their respective attorneys devoted a great deal of time and
effort in an attempt to reach a property settlement agreement,
which had not been finalized as of the taxable year in issue.
Petitioner's 1992 return reflects alimony received in the
amount of $19,000.4 Schedule A of petitioner's 1992 return
reflects legal expenses paid in the amount of $13,793. The
parties have stipulated that petitioner is entitled to deduct as
legal expenses $7,278 paid to the law firm of McGee & Gelman in
connection with petitioner's lawsuit against Marine Midland Bank.
At trial, petitioner argued that she is entitled to deduct
additional legal expenses paid to McGee & Gelman in the amount of
$2,122. Given the parties' stipulation and the lack of
additional evidence in the record, we conclude that petitioner is
4 By order of the State of New York Supreme Court for the
County of Erie, dated Oct. 25, 1989, petitioner was entitled to
receive $500 per week for temporary maintenance during pendency
of the divorce action.
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011