Beard v. Commissioner

77 T.C. 1275, 1981 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 11
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedDecember 17, 1981
DocketDocket Nos. 14671-79, 14687-79
StatusPublished
Cited by67 cases

This text of 77 T.C. 1275 (Beard v. Commissioner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Tax Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Beard v. Commissioner, 77 T.C. 1275, 1981 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 11 (tax 1981).

Opinion

OPINION

Dawson, Judge:

Respondent determined the following deficiencies in petitioners’ Federal income taxes for the calendar year 1975:

Petitioner(s) Docket No. Deficiency
Shirley Jean Beard . 14671-79 $20,841.57
Richard C. Patterson and Phyllis Patterson1 . 14687-79 23,216.65

The only issue for decision is whether certain amounts paid by Richard C. Patterson to Shirley Jean Beard are includable in her income under section 712 and deductible from his income under section 215. Respondent has taken inconsistent positions in these consolidated cases. However, on brief, respondent maintains that the amounts received by Shirley Jean Beard were part of a property settlement and are neither taxable to her nor deductible by her former husband.

All of the facts are stipulated. The stipulations of fact and the attached exhibits are incorporated herein by reference. The pertinent facts are summarized below.

Petitioner Shirley Jean Beard (Shirley) resided in Mesa, Ariz., at the time she filed the petition in her case. Petitioners Richard C. Patterson (Richard) and Phyllis Patterson resided in Ithaca, Mich., at the time they filed the petition in their case. The petitioners in both cases filed their 1975 Federal income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Richard and Shirley were married on April 18,1947. During their marriage, they adopted two children, Michael Patterson (born September 9,1955) and Patricia Patterson (born October 31, 1957). The couple resided in Michigan until their divorce on October 29, 1975. From 1957 until 1974, their personal residence was located on a tract of land (hereinafter referred to as State Road property) in Ithaca, Mich.

Neither Shirley nor Richard owned any property when they entered into the marriage. Thus, all of the property which was divided between them in their divorce settlement was acquired during the marriage. On July 24, 1957, Richard and Shirley purchased the State Road property from Delbert and Janet Shults for $20,000 pursuant to a land contract. The source of the $7,000 downpayment on the property was the joint efforts and assets of Richard and Shirley. On December 28, 1962, Richard purchased the Shults Equipment business from Delbert and Janet Shults for $150,000. The business was located on the State Road property adjacent to the personal residence of Richard and Shirley. Richard transferred the assets of the Shults Equipment business to Shults Equipment, Inc. (Shults Equipment), a corporation formed on August 1, 1966, in a nontaxable transfer in exchange for 2,000 shares of $10 par value common stock and 7,300 shares of $10 par value preferred stock.

The only time Shirley was employed during the marriage was while Richard was serving in the armed forces during the Korean War. However, she frequently entertained customers and employees of Shults Equipment at the residence adjacent to the business. In 1965, Shirley inherited $24,000 which was used in the acquisition of marital property and for expenses incurred in the marriage. With the exception of this inheritance and the downpayment on the State Road property, all funding of property interests (joint or otherwise) acquired by Shirley during the course of the marriage was provided by Richard. The source of these funds was his employment with Shults Equipment and its predecessors.

Immediately prior to the divorce, the couples’ assets were owned as follows:

Shirley
Mecosta Lake cottage. $58,000
Remus Road property. 8,000
Cash — bank accounts. 4,000
Residence (net equity). 8,000
Promissory notes. 10,000
Total. 88,000
Richard
Cash. 45,000
Promissory notes. 24,600
Total. 69,600
Shirley and Richard
(jointly with rights of survivorship)
State Road property. 70,000
Littlefield Road property!. 15,000
Webster Street property. 23,000
Texas property. 31,500
Promissory notes. 6,400
Total. 145,900

In addition, the outstanding common stock of Shults Equipment was owned as follows: Richard, 1,965 shares; Richard and Shirley (jointly with rights of survivorship), 35 shares; and an unrelated third party, 20 shares. The 7,300 shares of the company’s preferred stock were owned by the couples’ children. Richard also had an interest in the company’s profit sharing plan which was valued at approximately $58,000.

On October 21, 1974, Richard filed suit for divorce from Shirley, in the Circuit Court for the County of Gratiot. Shirley filed a similar suit seeking a divorce from Richard on October 28,1974. Pursuant to a court order signed by Circuit Judge Leo W. Corkin on January 20, 1975, Richard was directed to pay temporary alimony to Shirley during the pendency of the divorce proceedings in the amount of $1,000 per month. The issues with respect to the distribution of the marital property and the amount of permanent alimony to be awarded to Shirley were also litigated before Judge Corkin. In an opinion dated October 3, 1975, Judge Corkin decided the alimony and property settlement issues and also resolved several disputes concerning the valuation of some of the property. In particular, the common and preferred stock of Shults Equipment was valued at book value (stockholders’ equity), or $592,000. With regard to the alimony and property settlement issues, his opinion provided in part:

The contest involves the distribution of property and the amount of alimony, if any, to be awarded defendant. The defendant is 49 years of age with no marketable skill. She claims to suffer some degree of disability, but could probably perform some form of work if it were necessary. However, the Court is satisfied that she could not maintain the standard of living to which she has become accustomed if left to her own resources. The Court finds that she is entitled to alimony for as long as she lives and does not remarry. The Court would set the alimony in the sum of $1,000.00 per month. In making this award the Court takes into consideration the fact that defendant will be receiving a substantial property settlement that should generate income as time goes on. * * *

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
77 T.C. 1275, 1981 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 11, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/beard-v-commissioner-tax-1981.