The petitioner had amounts garnished from his paycheck in order to satisfy a separation agreement with his ex-wife to pay child support that he had defaulted on to the extent of approximately $64,000. In the Colorado proceeding utilizing Colorado law, the payments were not terminated upon death of either the payor or the payee. The ex-wife sued in a Texas court to enforce the separation agreement where the court ordered garnishment. Accordingly, the petitioner paid in excess of $50,000 in spousal support and child support, and claimed about a $39,000 alimony deduction. The ex-wife also claimed about $13,000 in alimony income. The court disallowed the deduction for failure to satisfy the conditions for deductible alimony contained in I.R.C. Sec. 71(b)(1), one of which is that the payments terminate upon death of the ex-wife. Under CO law, spousal support payments that are in arrears are treated as money judgments, and are not affected by the payor or payee's death. Iglicki v. Comr., T.C. Memo. 2015-80.
No Alimony Deduction for Garnished Wages.
Date of decision:
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