- 5 -
(e) Exception for Joint Returns.--This section and section
215 shall not apply if the spouses make a joint return with
each other.
In the instant case, except for the requirements of section
71(b)(1)(D), the parties agree that the $55,000 payment by
petitioner meets all other requirements for deduction under
sections 215 and 71. The parties here disagree only as to
whether petitioner’s obligation to make the payment would have
survived petitioner’s former wife’s death, in the event that she
died prior to petitioner’s paying her on August 1, 2000.
In section 71(b)(1)(D), Congress recognized that payments
would be for the support of the payee spouse only if they related
to a period before her death, and that payments for periods after
her death would not provide such support. Accordingly, Congress
imposed the section 71(b)(1)(D) requirements (i.e., that the
obligation to make such alimony or separate maintenance payments
terminate immediately upon the death of the payee spouse) in
order to prevent the deduction of amounts that are in effect
transfers of property unrelated to the support needs of the
recipient spouse. Hoover v. Commissioner, 102 F.3d 842, 845-846
(6th Cir. 1996) (citing H. Rept. 98-432 (part 2), at 1496
(1984)), affg. T.C. Memo. 1995-183.
As originally enacted in 1984, section 71(b)(1)(D) required
that the divorce or separation instrument include a provision
that any obligation or liability to make payments of alimony or
separate maintenance would terminate with the payee spouse’s
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011