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in mid-1990. An element of this pattern, specifically affirmed
by Mary in her testimony, was that Mary signed her and
petitioner’s joint tax returns if she was available when the tax
returns were completed, and that petitioner signed the tax
returns for her if she was not available when they were
completed. This pattern continued and specifically applied to
the 1994 joint tax return, filed on October 16, 1995.10 Mary was
a teacher, at least from 1990 onward. For 1994, Mary’s Federal
income tax withholding was not enough to satisfy the Federal
income tax liability on her income; yet Mary did not file a
separate 1994 income tax return until 1998, and then only on her
attorney’s advice. Not only did Mary not file a separate tax
return until years later; Mary cooperated with petitioner’s joint
tax return efforts by providing her Form W-2 to petitioner, and
he both (1) used the information from the Form W-2 in preparing
the joint tax return and (2) attached Mary’s Form W-2 to the
10Our comment in Estate of Campbell v. Commissioner, 56 T.C.
1, 13 (1971), applies almost exactly to the situation in the
instant case:
Viewed in this context, the absence of her
signature is hardly of overriding importance. Her
signature on prior and subsequent returns appears to
have been little more than a formal ritual as far as
she was concerned. She left the responsibility for
preparation and filing of the returns to her husband.
She intended the returns to be filed as he chose. We
conclude that Mrs. Campbell intended the 1964 return to
be filed in the same manner as was each of the others:
as a joint return.
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