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writing to a letter proposal of support by the other spouse, a
valid written separation agreement has been held to exist. See
Azenaro v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1989-224.
Petitioner contends that he is entitled to an alimony
deduction of $15,600 for the payments he made to Ms. Deluca in
2002 because the December 7, 2001, letter he received from her
attorney contained an offer, among other items, for separation
support payments of $1,300 per month, which he accepted when he
made payment by checks, marked “support”, payable to Ms. Deluca,
and cashed by her in 2002. Although petitioner never answered
either by letter or orally the proposal for spousal support
mentioned in the letter from Ms. Deluca’s attorney, he argues
that he performed pursuant to an executory contract which
satisfied the “written separation agreement” requirement of
section 71(b)(2)(B). To the contrary, respondent contends that
the facts and circumstances in this case do not establish that
petitioner’s payments to Ms. Deluca in 2002 were made pursuant to
a written separation agreement entered into by them.
We agree with respondent for the following reasons. First,
the most that can be said about the attorney’s letter to
petitioner is that it is only evidence of a prospective course of
action. It contained proposals of several terms that might have
been included in a future separation and property settlement
agreement favorable to Ms. Deluca. It was simply the beginning
of a negotiation process by them with respect to spousal support
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