Glenn H. and Diane J. Flood - Page 15




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          members have been considered gifts in the absence of sufficient             
          evidence of a true expectation of repayment and intent to enforce           
          collection of the debt.  See Perry v. Commissioner, supra at 481;           
          Estate of Reynolds v. Commissioner, 55 T.C. 172, 201 (1970);                
          Estate of Van Anda v. Commissioner, 12 T.C. 1158 (1949), affd.              
          per curiam 192 F.2d 391 (2d Cir. 1951).  Even if petitioner’s               
          father made the two payments reflected in the trial exhibit, that           
          evidence is insufficient, by itself, to show the existence of               
          bona fide debt.                                                             
               Had petitioners shown that a bona fide debt existed, they              
          would not have been entitled to a deduction for the tax year 1992           
          because petitioners did not show worthlessness in that year.  See           
          sec. 166(a)(1).  In determining the worthlessness of a debt, all            
          available evidence including the value of any security and the              
          financial condition of the debtor must be considered.  See sec.             
          1.166-2(a), Income Tax Regs.  A taxpayer must provide evidence of           
          the worthlessness of the debt.  See sec. 1.166-2(b), Income Tax             
          Regs.  A debt becomes worthless in the tax year in which a                  
          creditor, using sound business judgment, abandons all reasonable            
          hope of recovery on the basis of the available information                  
          regarding the surrounding circumstances of the debt.  See Crown             












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