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lacking in the instant case. Given the facts and circumstances
of this case, we conclude that under Oklahoma law, the transfers
in question would be valid gifts. This is consistent with the
way the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit resolved a
similar issue in Estate of Ridenour v. Commissioner, 36 F.3d 332
(4th Cir. 1994), affg. T.C. Memo. 1993-41. In that case, the
court found that a durable power of attorney could impliedly
include the authority to make irrevocable gifts during the
principal's life if the surrounding circumstances indicated such
an intent. Prior to Estate of Ridenour, the Virginia legislature
passed a statute which specifically provides for an implied gift
power in certain circumstances. Va. Code Ann. sec. 11-9.5
(Michie Supp. 1992). The court in Estate of Ridenour v.
Commissioner, supra at 334, stated that the statute expanded and
clarified the legal standard applied in Estate of Casey v.
Commissioner, 948 F.2d 895 (4th Cir. 1991), revg. T.C. Memo.
1989-511. The court went on to say that Estate of Casey “stands
for the proposition that to infer an implied gift power, the
court must look to the intent of the person granting power of
attorney.” Estate of Ridenour v. Commissioner, supra at 334.
The power of attorney which decedent executed does not
restrict the attorneys in fact from making gifts. The power of
attorney which decedent executed authorized her attorneys in fact
to “convey * * * any of my property, either real or personal.”
The power of attorney authorizes the attorneys in fact to “act in
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