Tract of Record

I read this as two 10 acre aliquot tracts that make up the entire S 1/2 of the SE 1/4.  Depending on the section, this may be described this way because of the section having all excess of deficient area being adjusted in the north or western most quarter quarter (64th) of the section.

If the difference of me buying 20 acres or 2.5 acres is a comma or semi-colon, I'm going to be mighty happy or mighty pissed.

This is two tracts of land.  

Tract means two or more contiguous lots or parcels under the same ownership.

It could be one tract, or it could be two parcels.

From the County Attorneys I’ve asked that question to in Montana, it’s one Tract of Record. All of it was transferred in one “transaction”.

I figure I know why you're asking, it will be considered one tract of land of 80 acres. It's unusual that it wasn't patented as the S1/2SE1/4. This was shorthanded in the patent?

The reason why I was asking. If it's two tracts of land I can do a Boundary Line Adjustment and avoid DEQ review. If its two tract no problem. One County accepts it as two Tracts, another isn't sure.

@lurker Life's a bitch and then you die.

@kevin-hines It's two 40 acre parcels. If they meant it to be one Tract why wouldn't they just have described it as the S1/2SE1/4?

@skeeter1996 It seems the semantics of parcel vs tract are having an impact. Whereas a parcel seems to be comprised of only 1 legally described piece of land, a tract can be 1 or more than 1 parcel. Given the simultaneous patent and the same ownership of the 2 parcels, apparently they can now be classified as 1 tract. I wonder why review can be avoided for 2 parcels unless they are also 1 tract.

Sent my accomplice in crime to research a job today that would appear to be two river lots and the east half of the quarter section.  Turned out the river had moved enough over time that the parcel we assumed was the southeast quarter of the quarter section plus a river lot to the west of it was actually listed since day one as the south half of the quarter section.  All deeds in 150 years refer to it in that manner depite there being a giant bite out of the west side.

Surveying is weird, but, I love it anyway.

@skeeter1996 

I agree...fast fingers hit buttons in error at times.  In this case, the 1 is right under the 4 on my keyboard.

There are several reason why someone might give the description as shown in the OP. I am only speculating, but one reason could be that the municipality's index requirements are to the 1/16th aliquot part; or the original author of the description was trained to describe by 1/4s only, not the south 1/2 of a particular quarter. If described like that in the original patent, the clerk wasn't trained correctly. 

My opinion is the description is for one parcel as described, just described in a weird way.

Could be how it was acquired added together.