Let me run something by ya

Sounds like this is going to take a fair amount of time and money. Explain what it is going to be required to get this done to your potential client, her lawyer, the brother and his lawyer. But you knew that. ?ÿ Good Luck!?ÿ

It's not uncommon in Oklahoma for property to be 'split'?ÿin probate but never recorded in the county's property records.?ÿ A search of probate records should produce a copy of?ÿthe 'will'?ÿ and described property division...but that in itself can be of only cursory value to a surveyor if the original tract has never been described properly or even surveyed.?ÿ?ÿ And multi-generational "hand-me-downs" that have never actually had any recorded deeds can make the project an exponentially intricate affair.?ÿ?ÿ Good luck...say howdy to the attorneys for us all. ??ÿ

"It has already been probabted"

Find the probate recording for your ownership documents.

Once you tell them how much it will cost to survey every neighbor's property to see what is left if no deed is available, they may be happy to spend for a proper deed research to track down the original deed into the family.

That may take searching for many probates thru the family tree.

A Harris,?ÿ I am gonna try to find the time this week to visit the lady and review the probate papers and see if anything is useful in them.

I had another similar call from yet another referral (I'm beginning to notice a trend with these referrals also) but anyway the property on that one was supposed to be 35 acres and again had never been surveyed. The owner was a 4th generation man and he had lived off the good name of his ancestors and the only thing he had going for him all his life was his last name.?ÿ The guy couldn't rub 2 nickels together but by golly he had a lot of family land a prominent last name and this particular parcel of 35 acres more or less was sketched out on a piece of paper with a sharpie. He was trying to sell it and he was stunned that no bank would believe him or accept his hand drawn sharpie sketch. He balked at my $7500 fee..

I actually expected him to exclaim, "do you know who I am"?

I usually end up surveying the adjacent parcels even if I have a good deed

Why don't you give her a break and only survey her half, let the brother in law survey his half.

BTW, was that a sharpie on a napkin?

Paul in PA

You mentioned Taxes.?ÿ I worked in the County assessors office in one of my dubious micro careers, and if they are collecting money on it, they will have to show where the documents that substantiate that process exist and are derived from.?ÿ That would be my first step in finding the timeline in custody.?ÿ As far as the Mango Tea, sounds like a great way to relax and get the bigger picture.

Good Luck.

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Posted by: Just A. Surveyor

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I actually expected him to exclaim, "do you know who I am"?

I am the one who knocks......"SAY MY NAME!"

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😉

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Title to the land does not seem to be an issue. They have been paying land taxes for generations and have been in "open and notorious possession" aka "Adverse Possession" for generations. The ONLY way to avoid future problems is to survey the adjoiners common line and give your client the WLO, making ABSOLUTELY SURE that the deed gets recorded this time. Tell them that they may lose acreage, but then they may gain acreage, especially if the adjoiners deeds are as haphazard as this on.

"...making ABSOLUTELY SURE that the deed gets recorded this time."

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Where would a Deed come from at this time?

Jim, that thought had occurred to me as well. What kind of a deed would this be? It can't be a Corrective Deed as their is nothing to correct. I don't think it can be a normal deed since there is no provenance.?ÿ?ÿ

I have no clue what the lawyers or title people call this type of situation.?ÿ

In Texas, anyone can go into to the tax office or go online and start paying taxes on any property they want.

That does not however create title in their favor to any property. Tax office will take anyone's money and they do not have to refund any money paid them.

Title is transferred by deed, will or court decree and perhaps homesteading for minimum possession of 30yrs unnoticed by anyone.

An executors deed would be the way to go. If she she is the executor of her late husbands estate she could deed half to herself and half to her brother-in-law. This doesn't get you a description, but it will get ownership into the record after you survey it. I had to have a husband file an executors deed to get his late wife's name off of a property so we could rearrange some lot lines.?ÿ