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any event, without reference to State law on the subject of
incompetence, petitioner bears the burden of proof on this
subject in this Court. Rule 142; see Ravetti v. Commissioner,
T.C. Memo. 1993-343, affd. without published opinion 38 F.3d 1218
(9th Cir. 1994).
Petitioner has failed to offer any credible evidence8 to
show: (1) That he lacked capacity to understand the tax returns
and Forms 4549-CG that he signed, (2) that respondent knew or
should have known of his alleged incapacity, or even (3) that he
signed the Forms 4549-CG under compulsion of mental disease or
disorder. Moreover, the evidence persuades us that petitioner
understood the documents he signed and that his decisions to
sign were entirely rational.
In May 1994, when petitioner signed Form 4549-CG for the
1990 tax year, he was being treated for his psychiatric problems
8The only evidence petitioner offered, other than his
testimonial assertions regarding his mental problems, were copies
of medical records showing that in 1993 he had been hospitalized
3 weeks for depression and schizophrenia and was treated on an
outpatient basis for these conditions around the time in 1994 he
signed the first Form 4549-CG for 1990, and again at least once
in 1999 and 9 times in August through November 2000. These
medical records do not show that petitioner lacked the cognitive
ability to understand what he signed or that he signed under
“compulsion”. The records also do not cover the times when
petitioner signed the returns and the second Form 4549-CG.
Respondent objected to admissibility of the records on relevance,
hearsay, and authentication grounds. The records and
petitioner’s testimony do not establish that petitioner lacked
cognitive capacity to understand the documents he signed or that
he signed under “compulsion”.
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