Fred J. Pettid - Page 19




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             Grummer v. Commissioner, 46 T.C. at 680.  In that case, the              
             Court found "no ambiguity of the agreement."  Id. at 679.                
                  The Danielson rule, the "strong proof" rule, and the                
             Grummer holding all relate to the same issue:  whether a                 
             party to a binding agreement should be permitted to avoid                
             the tax consequences that would otherwise flow from the                  
             unambiguous terms of the agreement.  The Danielson rule and              
             the "strong proof" rule differ in the level of proof                     
             necessary to challenge the tax consequences of an                        
             agreement.  The Grummer case adopts a rule prohibiting                   
             consideration of extrinsic evidence in interpreting the                  
             unambiguous language of a divorce decree or separation                   
             agreement.                                                               
                  None of the three theories relied upon by respondent                
             apply to the instant case.  All three theories apply only                
             in the case of an unambiguous agreement.  However, we find               
             paragraph 1.f) of the Annulment Agreement to be ambiguous                
             because it does not state whether, or to what extent, the                
             "periodic support payments" are in settlement of a claim                 
             for damages under the Bartling lawsuit or are payments in                
             connection with the annulment of petitioner's purported                  
             marriage to Ms. Wagner.  Paragraph 1 of the Annulment                    
             Agreement states that the transfers of property and                      








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