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elements are satisfied: (1) At the time relief is requested, the
requesting spouse is no longer married to or is legally separated
from the nonrequesting spouse, or has not been a member of the
same household as the nonrequesting spouse at any time during the
12-month period ending on the date relief was requested; (2) at
the time the return was signed, the requesting spouse had no
knowledge or reason to know that the tax would not be paid; and
(3) the requesting spouse will suffer economic hardship if relief
is not granted. Relief under Rev. Proc. 2000-15, sec. 4.02,
supra, is available only to the extent that the unpaid liability
is allocable to the nonrequesting spouse. We shall now address
each of these factors.
1. Marital Status
Petitioner is still married to Dr. Merendino. Although they
have no plans to legally separate, they have been living apart
since at least 1998. However, petitioner admitted that she and
Dr. Merendino lived in the same residence for 2 months during the
12-month period prior to the date that petitioner filed her
request for relief. Therefore, in light of petitioner’s own
statements, we conclude that the Merendinos failed to satisfy the
12-month period required by Rev. Proc. 2000-15, sec. 4.02.
2. Knowledge or Reason To Know
The relevant knowledge in the case of a reported but unpaid
liability is that the tax would not be paid when the return was
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