Gilmore v. United States: The Divorce

Don and Dixie Gilmore divorced in 1955. He deducted 80 percent of his $40,000 in legal expenses because they were connected to his business. He claimed: (1) if Dixie had won, she would have taken over his automobile dealerships and fired him;[1] and (2) if Dixie’s allegations of Don’s misbehavior had been confirmed, General Motors would have terminated his dealer franchises.[2] The Supreme Court denied his deductions. It noted that…