Laura D. Seidel - Page 28

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          primarily and personally liable.  Because of these circumstances,           
          the Board concluded: “No part of the $225 monthly payments                  
          represented alimony or any ‘allowance’ to the wife.  She could              
          not use the funds for any other purpose than to pay the carrying            
          charges on the mortgaged property and to reduce the principal               
          mortgage debt.  In so doing she acted as agent or trustee for the           
          petitioner.”  Kohlsaat v. Commissioner, supra at 534.                       
               Petitioner provided no documentation, such as canceled                 
          checks or Forms 1099, that substantiates her claim that she made            
          payments of mortgage interest in the amount of $2,471.09 in                 
          taxable year 1999.  Petitioner’s only evidence, in this respect,            
          is a statement from First Community Financial Services addressed            
          to Mr. Seidel reflecting that he paid $2,471.09 in interest in              
          taxable year 1999.  Since there is no evidence that petitioner’s            
          funds were in fact used to make these payments, and the burden of           
          proof is upon her to establish that it was in fact her funds that           
          were used to make the payments, we must conclude that petitioner            
          is not entitled to the deduction claimed because she has not                
          established that the payments were made with her funds.  Rule               
          142; Diez-Arguelles v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1984-356;                   
          Kazupski v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1982-182; Finney v.                    
          Commissioner, supra; Kohlsaat v. Commissioner, supra.                       









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