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Fed. Reg. 34456 (Aug. 31, 1984). Whether such obligation exists
may be determined by the terms of the applicable instrument, or
if the instrument is silent on the matter, by looking to State
law. Morgan v. Commissioner, 309 U.S. 78, 80 (1940); Kean v.
Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2003-163, affd. 407 f.3d 186 (3d Cir.
2005); Gilbert v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2003-92, affd. sub
nom. Hawley v. Commissioner, 94 Fed. Appx. 126 (3d Cir. 2004).
Thus, to qualify as alimony, the obligation of Mr. Nahhas to make
the payments must terminate at the death of petitioner.
In deciding whether the 2002 payments were alimony, the
Court looks to the language of the temporary order to ascertain
whether it contains a termination upon death condition, and, if
it does not, whether State law supplies such a condition. Hoover
v. Commissioner, 102 F.3d 842, 847 (6th Cir. 1996), affg. T.C.
Memo. 1995-183; see Gonzales v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1999-
332; see also Cunningham v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1994-474.
State law determines certain rights of the parties, and Federal
law determines the Federal income tax consequences of those
rights. Morgan v. Commissioner, supra at 80; Lucas v. Earl, 281
U.S. 111 (1930).
In this instance, the temporary order does not explicitly
order that the payments terminate upon petitioner’s death, and,
thus, the Court looks to Illinois law to determine whether the
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