Innocent Spouse Relief

The term innocent spouse refers to the person who has been victimized by the curse of divorce filed by his/her spouse. There have been various laws to provide relief to the person who is eligible to be declared innocent spouse under the law. Generally the laws have been defined in case a wife is claiming to be the victim as very less independent working women are there across the world. There are usually none or very few laws which are defined to declare men as the innocent spouse. The person who is actually the guilty party or is responsible to cause the defect in the marriage is usually not entitled for the request to nullify the marriage. The victim of the marriage can claim to get the innocent spouse relief. The victimized spouse even if the nullified still gets the benefits which he/she enjoyed during the marriage such as the financial benefits, supporting the child, support of the spouse and also the contribution for the attorney fees is made equitable etc.
There are various grounds on which a marriage can fail defined under the jurisdiction and are limited to the cases of fraud, bigamy, and mental incompetence etc. These cases can be:

• At the time of marriage the spouse was mentally incompetent
• The spouse was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of marriage
• Either spouse was made to marry by force or fraud
• Physically challenged at the time of marriage
• There is a blood relationship between the two spouses etc.

There are various steps following which the victimized spouse can claim for innocent spouse relief which are:

• The victim has to verify that he/she has filed a joint return with the other spouse
• The victim has to prove that his/her spouse has dishonestly or has given a flawed report on the items on the joint return. It will come under the IRS notice in almost all the cases
• The victim should make sure that the spouse gave the correct information when the joint return is signed. There should not be any ignorance
• It should be determined that the understatement did not bring any considerable benefit. Deception is not the only criteria but if the spouse lied about your investments, then the victim is benefited because of the understated tax
• The completed form 8857 is sent to the IRS (INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE).

The person is also eligible and can apply for this relief if it is under the ‘separate liability election’.  
The following things should be kept in mind if you claim for the Innocent Spouse relief that if your spouse takes the money for tax payments and intentionally doesn’t do the same then the victim is qualified for equitable relief even if not the innocent spouse relief.
It is not necessary that the victim knew that the spouse took the money but the IRS will still confirm for the equitable relief upon request. A statement should be attached to be submitted to the IRS to explain that the victim didn’t know whether the spouse took the money. The knowledge of financial matters and level of education is also important. Considering all the facts, the IRS determines whether it would be right to hold the victim liable for the tax. The victim may also qualify for partial relief if the spouse is proven of being dishonest in only some areas but not others.
The innocent spouse relief is also available sometimes while still married and still living with the spouse who should have reported additional tax. Also there is a law related to equitable considerations that should have been amended in 1998 but it wasn’t. The law says that a person is eligible for tax relief taking into account all the circumstances and facts, and to hold the person liable for the tax deficiency is inequitable. The situation is uncanny with the courts having a different idea over what is inequitable. The courts check whether the person was living a luxurious life style while the spouse was cheating on taxes, for this the courts mention that the person should have been living a rather simple lifestyle. This provision is expected to work more efficiently in the future.
Lack of knowledge is one of the major problems that can be a major hindrance to obtain the innocent spouse relief. The person doesn’t get the relief if the returns were found to be incorrect. The person is liable to analyze the returns made and check for any flaws and if found questions should be put up. It sometimes leads to the punishment for a spouse with a good academic background as the person should have identified the flaw in returns. This part being unfair is still a part of the law. A more favorable law related to the ‘lack of knowledge’ is given under the ‘separate liability election’.