- 9 - or interest which can be sold, assigned, transferred, or otherwise disposed of (including by inheritance) by a spouse or former spouse”. 10 U.S.C. sec. 1408(c)(2)(2000). Petitioner has no liability to make such retirement payments after the death of Ms. Holdman. Thus, the retirement payments meet the requirements of section 71(b)(1)(D). The retirement payments meet the requirements of section 71(b)(1), and pursuant to section 215, petitioner is entitled to a deduction of $3,387 for alimony payments.3 Contentions we have not addressed are irrelevant, moot, or meritless. To reflect the foregoing, An appropriate decision will be entered. 3 In Eatinger v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1990-310, Witcher v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2002-292, and Pfister v. Commissioner, 359 F.3d 352 (4th Cir. 2004), affg. T.C. Memo. 2002-198, the Court treated military retirement payments as property taxable to the former spouse. In those cases, the Court concluded that the payments were includable in the former spouse’s gross income pursuant to sec. 61(a)(11), but did not address whether the payments qualified as alimony, pursuant to sec. 71. Conversely, in Baker v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2000- 164, the Court agreed with respondent that the military retirement payments received by a former spouse qualified as alimony, pursuant to sec. 71.Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9Last modified: November 10, 2007