Mary Ellen Lepordo - Page 15




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          Questionnaire for Requesting Spouse, petitioner claimed that she            
          was not allowed to question Mr. Lepordo or the return preparer              
          and that she had no knowledge about how the moneys from the                 
          unpaid taxes were spent.  With respect to their financial                   
          matters, petitioner testified that she had access to their joint            
          account, but she did not pay any bills.  However, petitioner’s              
          Form 12510 stated that “mostly my husband” wrote the checks, and            
          if any checks were written, Mr. Lepordo had to approve them.                
               The Court notes, however, that with the 2000 return,                   
          petitioner signed a document that stated:  “I enclosed * * * [a             
          $2,713 check and] any moneys left over from this check may be               
          applied to my previous year’s balance still owed.”  And although            
          the 1996 return is no longer in issue, petitioner submitted a               
          similar handwritten statement:  “Please find enclosed a check in            
          the amount of $499.00 towards the money we owe.  Thank you, Mary            
          Ellen Lepordo”.6                                                            
               In view of petitioner’s testimony that she knew at the time            
          she signed the returns that their returns were submitted with               
          either partial or no payments and of the other evidence in the              
          record, the Court finds that she had both actual and constructive           


               6  The Court also notes that because petitioner filed a                
          separate return for 1997, she knew that she did not have to file            
          a joint tax return with Mr. Lepordo.  Because the Court finds               
          that this factor favors respondent on other grounds, the Court              
          need not decide whether that circumstance would also weigh                  
          against relief.                                                             





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