1.4 Legal Descriptions and Conveyance Types

Descriptions on the PS exam

NCEES lists legal descriptions for real property transactions as a distinct Legal Principles topic: preparation and interpretation, controlling elements, unwritten rights, encumbrances, and easements. Expect questions that ask you to read a description, find its defect, or choose the controlling element when calls conflict.

Three description systems

Metes and bounds traces the perimeter using directions (metes) and boundary markers or limits (bounds). A good description states a point of commencement (POC) tied to a recoverable corner, a tie to the point of beginning (POB), then sequential courses and distances around the parcel, closing back on the POB.

Lot and block references a recorded subdivision plat: "Lot 7, Block 2, of Mapleton Addition, as recorded in..." The recorded plat and its monuments control. You do not re-derive the lot from scratch; you retrace the plat.

PLSS aliquot descriptions divide a section by repeated halving: "the NE 1/4 of the SW 1/4 of Section 14." The aliquot part is defined by the controlling section and quarter corners. A nominal "40 acres" is only an estimate; the true size flows from the corners on the ground.

Writing rules a surveyor must apply

1. Start from a recoverable, well-defined point and tie to it.
2. State the basis of bearings explicitly; a description without a stated reference invites rotation error.
3. Run courses consistently (clockwise or counterclockwise) and check mathematical closure.
4. Call for monuments where they exist, because a monument call strengthens intent.
5. Recite encumbrances and easements that burden or benefit the parcel.
6. Avoid creating gaps or overlaps with the adjoiner descriptions.

Controlling elements when calls conflict

When a description's elements disagree, the general priority reflects which element best shows intent:

• Calls for senior rights / adjoiners and natural monuments are strong.
• Calls for artificial monuments (set markers) come next.
• Course (direction) generally outranks distance in many jurisdictions, though this can vary.
• Distance ranks below course in those jurisdictions.
• Area is usually the weakest call.

This order is a guide to intent, not a rule that overrides clear contrary intent or statute. The exam rewards reading the whole description for intent rather than mechanically applying a hierarchy.

Simultaneous versus sequential conveyances

The reconciliation method depends on how the parcels were created:

• Simultaneous conveyance: lots created at one moment by a single plat. No lot is senior to another, so an excess or deficiency in a block is generally prorated among the affected lots according to their record dimensions.
• Sequential conveyance: parcels created one after another from a common grantor. The earlier deed is senior; the junior deed takes what remains. Shortage falls on the junior parcel.

A classic exam item gives a recorded block whose found monuments span more or less than the sum of platted lot distances. Because the lots were created simultaneously, distribute the difference proportionally to the original record distances between found original monuments, not to a single lot.

Reading a metes-and-bounds call

A single call typically reads like: "thence N 45 deg 00 min E, 150.00 feet to an iron pin." Parse it as a bearing (direction, here in the northeast quadrant), a distance, and a terminal call (the iron pin). The bearing is referenced to the description's basis of bearings; if two deeds use different bases (true north, magnetic, grid, or an assumed line), their bearings can differ by a rotation even when the parcels are identical on the ground. Converting all calls to a common reference is a frequent first step before comparing adjoiner descriptions.

Strip and exception descriptions

Not every description traces a clean perimeter. A strip description defines a corridor by a centerline and a width ("a strip 30 feet wide lying 15 feet each side of the following centerline"), common for easements and roads. An exception ("less and except") carves a parcel out of a larger described tract; the surveyor must compute both the parent and the excepted area and confirm the remainder closes. A description by reference ("all of Lot 4 except the south 20 feet") relies on the referenced plat or prior deed, which must be retrieved to apply it.

Encumbrances and easements in the description

A legal description should recite the encumbrances and easements that burden or benefit the parcel, because they affect use and value even when they do not change the perimeter. An easement is a non-possessory right (utility, access, drainage); a mortgage, lien, or restrictive covenant is an encumbrance on the title. The interpretation rules apply here too: a clearly described easement controls over a vague one, and an easement appurtenant runs with the land while an easement in gross is personal. The exam may ask whether a described easement burdens the parcel or whether it was extinguished.

Defective descriptions and the surveyor's duty

Common defects include a description that fails to close, an ambiguous or missing point of beginning, a missing basis of bearings, internal inconsistency between recited area and computed area, and a call to a monument that cannot be found. When preparing a new description, the surveyor eliminates these defects; when interpreting an existing one, the surveyor documents the defect and applies the controlling-element rules and intent rather than silently forcing a closure. A description that creates a gap or overlap with the adjoiner is a red flag that the writer ignored the senior boundary.