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payment obligation would not end upon the first Mrs. Rogers’
death. Rogers disagrees and says that his obligation to pay
would end on her death as a matter of state law.1
Deciding this Federal tax case therefore requires us to
closely examine the divorce law of Tennessee, the State where
Rogers wed, divorced, remarried, and resided when he filed the
petition in this case.
Background
Rogers’ first wife sued him for divorce in 1991 and quickly
moved to get alimony pendente lite. In July 1991, the Tennessee
Circuit Court handling her case ordered Rogers to pay $225 per
week while the case was pending. The order specifically provided
that the “payments are to be made directly from the ABC Insurance
Center to the plaintiff. The entire amount paid by ABC Insurance
Center shall be taxable income to the defendant.”
The estranged couple soon negotiated a Marital Dissolution
Agreement, which was adopted by the Circuit Court as part of its
final decree granting the divorce in March 1992. The Dissolution
Agreement continued Rogers’ weekly obligation:
The Husband shall pay as lump sum alimony to
the Wife in installments two hundred twenty-
five and no/100ths ($225.00) dollars per
week, beginning immediately, and continuing
1 Paul Rogers’ second wife, Judy, is a petitioner only
because she filed a joint return with him for the 2000 tax year.
All references to “Rogers” are to him alone.
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