Patricia P. Kean v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Robert W. Kean, III v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue

OPINION

VAN ANTWERPEN, Circuit Judge.

These consolidated tax appeals arise from the Commissioner of Internal Revenue’s tax treatment of payments made by Robert Kean, pursuant to a series of support orders issued pendente lite during a divorce proceeding. The recipient of those payments, Patricia Kean, argues that the Commissioner and Tax Court erred in concluding that those payments were “alimony or separate maintenance payments” (hereinafter “alimony”) as defined by I.R.C. § 71(b).

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Patricia P. Kean (Ms. Kean) and Robert W. Kean, III (Mr. Kean) were married on…