Book Review Mel Frumkes' Divorce Taxation Handbook: a Practical Guide for Lawyers and Judges, 238 Pp. Together With Appendices and Index. Published by Lawyers Cooperative Publishing in Association With American of Matrimonial Lawyers (1995) ($95.00 Plus S & H)
| Pages | 515 |
| Publication year | 2021 |
69 CBJ 515. BOOK REVIEW MEL FRUMKES' DIVORCE TAXATION HANDBOOK: A Practical Guide for Lawyers and Judges, 238 pp. together with appendices and index. Published by Lawyers Cooperative Publishing in association with American of Matrimonial Lawyers (1995) ($95.00 plus S & H)
As any lawyer who has represented clients in dissolution actions before and after 1984 knows, the Tax Reform Act of 1984 as modified by the Tax Reform Act of 1986, has changed the rules concerning tax considerations with respect to transfers of property and alimony and child support.
The old standbys of U.S v. Davis, 370 U.S. 65 (1962) and Commissioner v. Lester, 366 U.S. 299 (1961) no longer set the rules. In their place are a number of temporary (?) regulations dealing with treatment of transfer of property between spouses, tax treatment of alimony and seperate maintenance payments, and dependency exemption were introduced by the IRS in the form of questions and answers; but, as the temporary regulations recite, "The questions and answers are not intended to address comprehensively the issues raised by § 1041, § 71, § 215, and § 152 (e)." Taxpayers may rely for guidance on these questions and answers which the Internal Revenue Service will follow in resloving issues arising under § 1041, § 71, § 215 and § 152 (e). No inference, however, should be drawn regarding questions not expressly raised and answered.
This reviewer remembers vividly the myriad questions which immediately came to mind in reviewing each of the questions and answers described in the temporary regulations and most practitioners contivue to be troubled, from time to time, especially in dealing with some of the obscure and diverse tax related situations which all practitioners encoutner in negotiating and trying dissolution action.
There have been a number of tax services, texts and treatises published, which address the questions raised by the Tax Reform Act. If one is diligent and follows detailed research, in most, if not all, cases the practitioner will find the answer to his or her problem.
Now comes a handbook: Mel Frumkes' Divorce Taxation Handbook: A Practical Guide for Lawywers and...
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