As Jed Clampett used to say…..
Woooooo doggies, this is gonna be a goodun!
Another example of what did they mean when they writ what they wrote. In 1992 the family patriarch died leaving numerous grown children to divvy up the estate. Among other tracts of land was “The North Half of Section 31.” Not that it matters much, but this Section 31 will only have something like 300 acres +/- in the North Half. Two of the daughters end up splitting said North Half. First, let me point out that a U.S. Highway happens to slice off an odd-shaped and partially curved area in both what would normally be known as the NE4 and the NW4 of the section. Not a huge piece, but, significant.
The family agreement results in a deed from the trustees to the one daughter and husband for, “The East 120 acres of the North Half of Section 31 (lying north of the highway).” The other daughter receives the North Half less as stated.
Several years later a document is created addressing agricultural field terraces and a waterway that drain from the east property onto the west property. In that document the chosen key phrases are: The East 120 acres of the Northeast Quarter of Section 31 and the West 40 acres of the Northeast Quarter of Section 31.
Here are a few of the choices:
a) The line is based on a strict area calculation of all land in what would be the North Half and parallel with the east section line for a perfect area of 120 acres.
b) The line is based on a strict area calculation as above, but after subtracting however much is lost to the highway directly to the south of this area, for a perfect net area of 120 acres.
c) Split what would be the Northeast Quarter into an east 3/4 and a west 1/4 ignoring any loss to the highway, thus obtaining some number other than 120.00000000 acres.
d) It’s all still owned by family members, so have them file an affidavit clarifying the method to be used.
e) There is a stretch of barb wire fence about 1000 feet long separating crop land from pasture land that was probably installed to conform to the intended divide line. Extend it to the south line of the North Half, subtract the highway and get whatever is left.
f) Seek wisdom from land surveyors all over the globe. (My favorite, obviously.)
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