John R. and Patricia G. Okerson - Page 12

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          fulfillment of explicit requirements set forth in section 71.               
          Id.; see also Rosenthal v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1995-603                
          (“Whether or not the parties intended for the payments to be                
          deductible to petitioner, we must focus on the legal effect of              
          the agreement in determining whether the payments meet the                  
          criteria under section 71.”).  As the House Committee on Ways and           
          Means articulated in its report on section 71 in discussing the             
          need for such an objective test:                                            
               The committee believes that a uniform Federal standard                 
               should be set forth to determine what constitutes                      
               alimony for Federal tax purposes.  This will make it                   
               easier for the Internal Revenue Service, the parties to                
               a divorce, and the courts to apply the rules to the                    
               facts in any particular case and should lead to less                   
               litigation.  The committee bill attempts to define                     
               alimony in a way that would conform to general notions                 
               of what type of payments constitute alimony as                         
               distinguished from property settlements and to prevent                 
               the deduction of large, one-time lump-sum property                     
               settlements.  [H. Rept. 98-432 (Pt. 2), at 1495-1495                   
               (1984).]                                                               
               Although the parties to a divorce proceeding may intend that           
          certain payments be considered alimony for Federal income tax               
          purposes, and a court overseeing that proceeding may intend the             
          same, Congress has mandated through section 71(b)(1)(D) that                
          payments qualify as alimony for Federal income tax purposes only            
          when the payor’s liability for those payments, or for any                   
          payments which may be made in substitute thereof, terminates upon           
          the payee spouse’s death.  Petitioners fail this requirement in             
          that both of the decrees state specifically and unequivocally               






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