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and his former spouse were legally separated and not members of
the same household at the time the payments were made.
Respondent contends that the payments made by petitioner under
the terms of the separation agreement do not terminate in the
event of his former spouse’s death.
In 1986, Congress removed the requirement from section
71(b)(1)(D) that a divorce or separation agreement specifically
state that liability terminates upon the death of the payee
spouse. See Tax Reform Act of 1986, Pub. L. 99-514, sec.
1843(b), 100 Stat. 2853. Thus, payments now qualify as alimony
as long as termination would occur automatically under State law.
See Human v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1998-106.
Since the settlement agreement does not expressly address
petitioner’s liability to make the payments in the event of his
former spouse’s death, we look to Florida law to determine his
liability in that regard. Sampson v. Commissioner, 81 T.C. 614,
618 (1983), affd. per curiam without published opinion 829 F.2d
39 (6th Cir. 1987).
Florida law recognizes alimony as either periodic or lump
sum. Fla. Stat. Ann. sec. 61.08 (West 1999); Canakaris v.
Canakaris, 382 So. 2d 1197, 1200 (Fla. 1980). “Lump sum alimony”
is “a fixed and certain amount, the right to which is vested in
the recipient and which is not therefore subject to increase,
reduction, or termination in the event of any contingency,
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