The phrase SE 1/4 of NW 1/4 of Section 12, Township 3 North, Range 2 West uses a reference from which system, even if a complete deed later adds metes and bounds courses?
Correct Answer
D) The rectangular survey
The township, range, section and aliquot reference is from the rectangular public-land survey system. A full description can use that reference as a starting point for subsequent metes and bounds courses. The supplied fragment does not establish all later boundary calls or legal validity.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
Option D is correct because a reference to a quarter-quarter of a numbered section within a township and range is the language of the rectangular survey system. A rectangular survey description may be used to reach a point of beginning for a metes and bounds description used thereafter, so later courses do not change the system of this reference.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option A: The metes and bounds system
Option A is wrong because the metes and bounds system describes land by courses and distances from a point of beginning. The quoted phrase uses sections, townships and ranges, which belong to the rectangular survey, even if metes and bounds courses follow later.
Option B: The Torrens title system
Option B is wrong because the Torrens system is a method of title registration, not a method of legally describing land location. It does not produce section, township and range references.
Option C: The lot and block system
Option C is wrong because the lot and block system refers to lots and blocks on a recorded subdivision plat. The phrase contains no lot, block or plat reference.
Township, Range, Section equals rectangular
If you see a township, range and section with fractions like 1/4, you are looking at the rectangular grid.
How to use: Use this to identify the legal description system from the words in a description.
Exam Tip
Identify the system by its building blocks: courses and distances for metes and bounds, sections and townships for rectangular survey, lots and blocks for recorded plats.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- -Calling a township and range reference metes and bounds because the deed later adds courses
- -Treating the Torrens system as a land description method
- -Confusing section references with lot and block references
Concept Deep Dive
Analysis
This question tests recognition of a legal description reference by its format. Township, range, section and aliquot parts such as SE 1/4 of NW 1/4 identify the rectangular survey system, even if a complete deed later uses metes and bounds courses from a point reached by that reference.
Background Knowledge
The three main legal description methods in the U.S. are metes and bounds, the rectangular (government) survey system and lot and block (recorded plat). The rectangular survey divides land into townships and ranges measured from principal meridians and baselines, then into sections and aliquot parts. Descriptions can combine methods, such as using a section reference to locate a metes and bounds point of beginning.
Real-World Application
An appraiser in a western state reviews a deed that begins with a quarter-quarter section reference and then runs metes and bounds courses to describe an irregular parcel. The appraiser recognizes the rectangular survey reference used to reach the point of beginning and reports the legal description from the deed.
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