1971 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 131">*131
A former wife received payment from her former husband after her remarriage even though their agreement upon divorce provided such payments would cease upon her remarriage. In a later year the former husband sued his former wife for repayment of the funds on the theory of unjust enrichment and recovered a judgment for repayment of all amounts paid after his former wife's remarriage. Petitioner who in April 1964 filed a joint return with his then wife who had received the funds was notified of the receipt of the funds by his then wife in February 1964. Petitioner and the recipient of the funds are now divorced. Petitioner and his then wife claimed dependency exemptions for her three children on their joint return.
1. The payments are includable in the former wife's income in the year received.
2. Petitioner is not entitled to the three dependency exemptions claimed in his income tax return1971 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 131">*132 for his then wife's children for failure to prove they paid over one-half of the support of the claimed dependents, and respondent's determination of addition to tax for negligence is sustained for failure of proof by petitioner.
3. Under the provisions of
56 T.C. 378">*379 Respondent determined a deficiency in petitioner's income tax for the calendar year 1963 in the amount of $ 5,266.93 and an addition to tax under
The issues for decision are:
(1) Whether petitioner's former wife received $ 23,000 of1971 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 131">*134 taxable income which she and petitioner failed to include in their joint Federal income tax return for the calendar year 1963.
(2) Whether petitioner and his former wife are entitled to the three dependency exemptions claimed on their joint return for her three children who resided with them during the year 1963.
(3) Whether petitioner is liable for the addition to tax for negligence for the year 1963.
(4) Whether, if the $ 23,000 received by petitioner's former wife is includable in their income reportable on the basis of a joint return, petitioner should be relieved from tax on this amount under the provisions of
1971 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 131">*135 FINDINGS OF FACT
Some of the facts have been stipulated and are found accordingly.
Petitioner is an individual who resided in Chicago, Ill., at the time the petition in this case was filed.
During the calendar year 1963 petitioner and his then wife were living together in Chicago. They filed a joint Federal income tax 56 T.C. 378">*380 return for the calendar year 1963 with the district director of internal revenue, Chicago, Ill. The date shown on this return on the line provided therefor next to the line provided for the signatures is April 14, 1964.
Petitioner and Gwendolyn Walton (hereinafter referred to as Gwendolyn) were married on November 25, 1962. Subsequent to the year 1963 they were divorced.
Gwendolyn had married Julius Walton (hereinafter referred to as Walton) in 1941 and was divorced from him on May 28, 1959. At the time of the divorce, the three children of Gwendolyn and Walton, Randall, April, and Melinda, were 15, 9, and 8 years old, respectively. Gwendolyn was given custody of the children, and they resided with her and petitioner during the taxable year 1963.
During the calendar year 1963 Gwendolyn was receiving from her first husband, Walton, $ 600 a month for child1971 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 131">*136 support and $ 416.66 as payment on a property settlement.
On May 28, 1960, Gwendolyn married Edward A. Schrader (hereinafter referred to as Schrader). On June 5, 1961, Gwendolyn and Schrader entered into a written separation agreement which, among other things, provided that Schrader was to pay Gwendolyn for her support and maintenance the sum of $ 23,000 per year until her death or remarriage and that a subsequent divorce was not to affect or impair the provisions of the agreement. On August 25, 1961, Gwendolyn and Schrader were divorced.
Gwendolyn told petitioner that she was receiving $ 23,000 a year in monthly payments from Schrader, which payments would stop in the event of her remarriage or death. Both petitioner and Gwendolyn knew that it was proper for Gwendolyn to notify Schrader of her marriage to petitioner. During 1963 Schrader paid Gwendolyn $ 23,000.
In January 1964 the fact that Gwendolyn had married petitioner came to Schrader's attention. In February both Gwendolyn and petitioner received a copy of a letter written by Schrader's attorney to the attorney who had represented Gwendolyn in connection with the drafting of the separation agreement between her and Schrader. 1971 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 131">*137 This letter was dated February 3, 1964, with carbon copies to Gwendolyn at her home address, petitioner at his business address, and Schrader. The body of this letter reads as follows:
In May and June of 1961, I believe that you represented Mrs. Gwendolyn E. Schrader, as she then was, in relation to the negotiation and drafting of the separation agreement between her and my client Edward A. Schrader.
Under the terms of the separation agreement, Mr. Schrader was obligated to pay Gwendolyn E. Schrader alimony at the rates set forth in Article Eighth of the agreement, "until the death or remarriage of the Wife or the creation of the trust as hereinafter provided, whichever event shall first occur, . . ."
56 T.C. 378">*381 Mr. Schrader has made the payments called for by the agreement, commencing with the date of the agreement and continuing down to and including the payment due on January 1, 1964.
I have now in my possession a certified copy of a marriage application and record issued from the office of Edward J. Barrett, County Clerk of the County of Cook, recording the fact that Gwendolyn Edith Walton, the name that Mrs. Schrader assumed upon her divorce from Mr. Schrader, was married to1971 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 131">*138 Mr. Herbert Joss on November 25, 1962. Accordingly, Mr. Schrader is not obligated to make further payments to Mrs. Joss. In addition, Mrs. Joss is clearly obligated to return to Mr. Schrader the payments made by him to her after November 25, 1962 with appropriate interest. These payments total $ 26,000.
Since the terms of the separation agreement are clear and the facts established as a matter of record, I trust that it will not be necessary to take any proceedings to enforce this obligation.
On or about April 20, 1964, Schrader sued Gwendolyn in a proceeding in the Circuit Court of Cook County, County Department, Law Division (No. 64-L-6362) for return of all moneys he had paid to her subsequent to her marriage to petitioner. The total sum that Schrader sued to obtain was $ 26,000, representing payments from November 25, 1962, through January 1, 1964. Schrader secured a judgment against Gwendolyn for $ 26,000. The basis for Schrader's successful suit was that his obligation to make payments to Gwendolyn under the June 5, 1961, agreement terminated by virtue of Gwendolyn's marriage to petitioner, and that all payments made to her after the date of her marriage to petitioner 1971 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 131">*139 unjustly enriched her.
During 1963 Gwendolyn maintained a checking account at the Upper Avenue National Bank, Chicago, Ill., under the name of Gwendolyn E. Walton. Gwendolyn deposited the $ 23,000 she received from Schrader in 1963 in this account and in addition also deposited during 1963 other moneys in the account totaling at least $ 8,000. Petitioner knew of the existence of this account of Gwendolyn's and occasionally at her request would cash a check for her drawn on this account. However, petitioner did not know any details with respect to the deposits or withdrawals in this account and had no authority over the account. During 1963 all checks drawn on this account were drawn by Gwendolyn.
Petitioner never received any cash from checks drawn on Gwendolyn's account during 1963 or any other direct funds from Gwendolyn. Some of the checks drawn on this account were for household expenses of petitioner, Gwendolyn, Gwendolyn's three children, and petitioner's two children.
Petitioner on his joint return with Gwendolyn reported wages of $ 6,537 from Rothschild & Co. and Federal taxes withheld of $ 441.30. He reported dividends after the $ 50 exclusion of $ 55 and capital transactions1971 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 131">*140 involving sales of stock held for less than 6 months with 56 T.C. 378">*382 a gross selling price of $ 17,726.57 and sales of stock held for more than 6 months with a gross selling price of $ 7,367.49. Petitioner and Gwendolyn claimed $ 600 exemptions on their joint return for themselves and for Gwendolyn's mother, Gwendolyn's three children and petitioner's two children.
During 1963 petitioner and Gwendolyn, together with Gwendolyn's two daughters and petitioner's two children lived in an apartment at 3800 Lakeshore Drive in Chicago. Gwendolyn's son was away at boarding school or at camp during most of the year 1963. Prior to petitioner's marriage to Gwendolyn, she had been living in this apartment. The lease was in her name. The apartment had four bedrooms and the rental on the apartment was approximately $ 300 a month. Gwendolyn paid the rental on the apartment and handled all the bills such as telephone and food bills. Gwendolyn's three children and petitioner's two children went to private schools and petitioner and Gwendolyn employed a maid. Gwendolyn's former husband, Walton, paid the tuition of Gwendolyn's two daughters at their private school and the expenses, except allowance, 1971 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 131">*141 transportation, and clothes for Gwendolyn's son at boarding school in addition to paying Gwendolyn $ 600 per month for child support. The maternal grandfather of petitioner's two children paid their tuition at private school.
In 1963 petitioner had recently gone into the securities business. However, he had been employed for many years prior to 1963 in other occupations and had substantial savings.
Respondent in his notice of deficiency increased the income as reported by petitioner and Gwendolyn on their joint income tax return by the amount of $ 23,000 with the explanation that amounts received by Gwendolyn from Schrader during the taxable year 1963 are taxable as ordinary income. Respondent also disallowed the $ 1,800 claimed as dependency exemptions for the three children of Gwendolyn and Walton with the explanation that it had not been established that petitioner and Gwendolyn furnished more than one-half of the support for the children during the taxable year 1963. Respondent also determined an addition to tax under
Petitioner by amendment to his brief contends that if the $ 23,000 is taxable income of Gwendolyn which should have been reported on the joint return of petitioner and Gwendolyn, then under
56 T.C. 378">*383 OPINION
Respondent takes the position that the $ 23,000 received by Gwendolyn from Schrader in 1963 constitutes income within the definition of section 61. Respondent points out that section 61 defines gross income as all income from whatever source derived with certain specified exceptions. It is respondent's position that none of these exceptions applies to the $ 23,000.
At the trial petitioner apparently was relying, as he had in his petition, on the fact that he had no knowledge of the receipt by Gwendolyn in 1963 of the $ 23,000. Petitioner, aside from his argument under
On brief petitioner contends that since the $ 23,000 was paid to Gwendolyn after the legal obligation of Schrader to make such payment had ceased, the amount does not constitute income to Gwendolyn. 4 Petitioner contends that the nature of a payment by a husband to his former wife ceases to be alimony where there is no legal obligation to make the payment and the payment becomes something 1971 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 131">*144 else such as a gift or a loan, citing as support of that position
In
We need not and do not characterize the payments other than to hold that they were not alimony; but they could have been nontaxable gifts, in which event the petitioner's tax return would have made a correct representation.
We hold that under the law of Virginia the petitioner's former husband was under no legal obligation to continue making payments subsequent to the petitioner's remarriage and, therefore, the petitioner was not required to include such payments in her income tax return for the calendar year 1964.
In that case we stated that the only issue for decision was whether the payments received by the taxpayer were includable in her income under section 71(a). We held that the payments were not 1971 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 131">*146 includable under that section. We pointed out that certain cases holding amounts received by a divorced wife from her former husband to be includable in her income after her remarriage involved payments under a settlement agreement or divorce decree based on a settlement agreement specifically providing for the continuance of the payments if the wife remarried.
The decree under consideration in the
Because of the narrow issue presented in the
Respondent states that the factual situation present in this case precludes a finding of either a gift or a loan by Schrader to Gwendolyn. The record shows that Schrader did not know of Gwendolyn's remarriage until January 1964 and made the payments under the misapprehension that1971 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 131">*148 she was not remarried.
Respondent argues that the amount is not a gift since to hold the amount to be a gift necessitates at a minimum a finding of an intention on the part of Schrader to make a gift. See
We also conclude that the payments by Schrader to Gwendolyn are not excludable from Gwendolyn's income under the rationale of such cases as
The payments here were obviously not in effect for child support since insofar as this record shows there was no child support ever paid by Schrader to Gwendolyn. From the facts in this case it is likewise clear that the payments by1971 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 131">*149 Schrader to Gwendolyn were not loans. Schrader's suit was based on unjust enrichment. The suit was founded on his claim that Gwendolyn had received sums from Schrader which she was not entitled to receive and therefore there was an implied contract that she repay the amount to him. The nature of a loan is an express contractual obligation or an understanding between the parties that the borrower is to repay the lender. A finding that moneys must be repaid because the recipient thereof was unjustly enriched negates a conclusion of the existence of an express contractual obligation or an understanding of the type present in case of a loan.
Gwendolyn's obligation to repay Schrader is not in substance different from the obligation of an embezzler to repay the one from whom he has embezzled funds. In
The Court in
Gwendolyn took the funds1971 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 131">*151 she received from Schrader, put them in her bank account and used them as she saw fit for her own purposes during 1963. The circumstances under which the payments were made are such that no finding can be made that the amounts are excludable as a loan or under the provisions of the Code excluding gifts from income. Petitioner has suggested no other provision of the Revenue Code under which the $ 23,000 is excludable from Gwendolyn's income. We therefore have a situation in which Gwendolyn received amounts which were subject in 1963 to her free control. She used the sums as she saw fit during the year 1963. Under these facts there is no basis for concluding that the amounts which Gwendolyn received from Schrader in 1963 were not income to her in that year. In our view, the holding of the Court in
The meager evidence in the record as to the cost of support of Gwendolyn's three children during the year 1963 indicates that Walton rather than Gwendolyn and petitioner furnished the major portion of their support. In any event, the burden is on petitioner to establish the fact that he and Gwendolyn did contribute over one-half of the support of the three children in order for him to be entitled to the exemptions he has claimed and this he has not done.
Petitioner makes no argument with respect to the addition to tax which respondent determined for negligence or intentional disregard 56 T.C. 378">*387 of the rules. There is nothing in this record to show that Gwendolyn and petitioner were not negligent or in intentional disregard of the rules in failing to include the $ 23,000 in the income reported on the joint return and in claiming dependency exemptions for Gwendolyn's three children. The burden is on petitioner to show that respondent erred in determining the addition to tax for negligence or intentional disregard of the rules and regulations. This burden petitioner has not carried.
Since we have concluded that without consideration of the provisions of
1971 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 131">*154 From the facts we have found, it is apparent that the $ 23,000 improperly omitted by petitioner and Gwendolyn from their joint return was in excess of 25 percent of the amount of gross income stated in the return. However, the evidence shows that petitioner at the time he signed the return did know of the omission. Therefore 56 T.C. 378">*388 the condition imposed by
The evidence in this record is conflicting as to whether petitioner knew prior to February 1964 that Gwendolyn was receiving the payments from Schrader. Gwendolyn testified that he did know in December 1962 and throughout 1963 that she was receiving these payments. She stated that she discussed the receipt of these payments with him and that he suggested she not notify Schrader of her marriage so that she could continue to receive the payments. Petitioner testified that he did not know until he received notice in the form of a copy of a letter in February or March 1964 that Gwendolyn was continuing to receive the payments from Schrader. He testified that about the time he and Gwendolyn1971 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 131">*155 were married he told her to notify Schrader of their marriage and that about 1 week later Gwendolyn told him she had given this notice to Schrader.
The testimony of Gwendolyn and petitioner is also in direct conflict as to whether petitioner benefited from the moneys Gwendolyn received from Schrader and if so to what extent. Gwendolyn testified that she paid the apartment rent and paid for all food, utilities, and miscellaneous household expenses. She testified that petitioner never gave her any money as reimbursement for any of these expenses or for any other purpose during the year 1963. Petitioner testified that he gave Gwendolyn $ 100 in cash for household expenses during each week of the year 1963 and that in addition he paid the wages of their maid.
In this case we do not find it necessary to resolve the conflict in the testimony of Gwendolyn and petitioner. Both testified that petitioner knew of Gwendolyn's receipt of the $ 23,000 from Schrader in 1963 prior to the signing of the joint return in April 1964. This fact is sufficient to prevent petitioner's being entitled to the relief provided for by
1. All references are to the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.↩
2.
3. It was holdings such as this by the courts which occasioned the enactment of Pub. L. 91-679, approved Jan. 12, 1971. See S. Rept. No. 71-1537, to accompany H. Rept. No. 9774 (Pub. L. 91-679), 91st Cong., 2d Sess., and H. Rept. No. 91-1734, 91st Cong., 2d Sess. (1970).↩
4. At the further trial Gwendolyn stated that Schrader had "dropped the charges" against her apparently meaning that he was no longer attempting to collect on his judgment against her.↩
5.
(e) Spouse Relieved of Liability in Certain Cases. -- (1) In general. -- Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary or his delegate, if -- (A) a joint return has been made under this section for a taxable year and on such return there was omitted from gross income an amount properly includable therein which is attributable to one spouse and which is in excess of 25 percent of the amount of gross income stated in the return, (B) the other spouse establishes that in signing the return he or she did not know of, and had no reason to know of, such omission, and (C) taking into account whether or not the other spouse significantly benefited directly or indirectly from the items omitted from gross income and taking into account all other facts and circumstances, it is inequitable to hold the other spouse liable for the deficiency in tax for such taxable year attributable to such omission,↩