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The Georgia Supreme Court has explained that the obligation
to pay lump sum alimony does not terminate upon the death of
either party because lump sum alimony is in the nature of a
property settlement, regardless of whether it is designated as
alimony. Id. The fact that there may be an actual property
settlement apart from any payments is irrelevant. See Hopkinson
v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1999-154 (stating that the inquiry is
not whether the payments were alimony or a property settlement
based on the facts and circumstances of the case but only whether
the requirements of section 71 are met).
The Georgia Supreme Court has also established the following
test to be used in determining whether particular payments are
lump sum alimony payable in installments, as opposed to periodic
alimony: “If the words of the documents creating the obligation
state the exact amount of each payment and the exact number of
payments to be made without other limitations, conditions or
statements of intent, the obligation is one for lump sum alimony
payable in installments.” Winokur v. Winokur, supra at 96; see
also Hopkinson v. Commissioner, supra.
Unfortunately for petitioners, the combination of the ex-
wife’s attorney’s addition of the words “lump sum” and the fact
that the episodic payments are for an exact amount and for a
fixed period of time (i.e., $800 per month for 10 years) changed
the nature of the payments from periodic alimony to something
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Last modified: November 10, 2007