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authority, or the principal must ratify the agent’s acts. Trans
World Travel v. Commissioner, supra. Authority may be granted by
express statements or may be derived by implication from the
principal’s words or actions. Restatement, Agency 2d, sec. 26
(1957). Whether an agent is authorized to act for the principal
is decided by taking into account all the circumstances,
including the relationship of the parties, the common business
practices, the nature of the subject matter, and the facts of
which the agent has notice concerning objects the principal
desires to accomplish. Id. at sec. 34. We must decide the
extent of Mr. Izen’s authority to act for the trusts on the basis
of all the facts and circumstances revealed by the record. Adams
v. Commissioner, supra at 369-373; Kraasch v. Commissioner, supra
at 626-629.
Mr. Norton only became aware of respondent’s examination of
the Pago Trust after a brief conversation with petitioner in
2001, and they never discussed the matter again. Mr. Norton had
never met with or spoken to Mr. Izen before the trial in this
case. Further, Mr. Norton testified that he did not recall
authorizing the hiring of an attorney for the Pago Trust or
authorizing an attorney to file a petition with this Court.
Petitioners have not offered any evidence or elicited any
testimony upon which we can conclude that Mr. Norton later
ratified the filing of the petition, and it is unlikely that any
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