"Just Follow the Deed": Certification Pressure on a 12.4-Acre Parcel

Pre-fieldwork research is where this boundary is actually decided; skipping it converts a boundary survey into a deed-plotting exercise.

• Chain of title / all deeds in the client's chain, not just the current deed: establishes the sequence of conveyances, so you know whether the 1974 line was a senior line cut off by a later deed (junior/senior rights).
• Adjoiner deeds on both sides and to the rear: the neighbor's deed may call for the same nail or the concrete monument, which would corroborate or defeat your interpretation.
• The 1998 survey and any other prior surveys of record: shows what evidence existed then, what was set, and whether the concrete monument was ever found by anyone.
• Subdivision plat / lot records and road records: establishes the original monument scheme and whether the deed line is a lot line or a metes-and-bounds line.
• Corner record / monument record filings required by state statute: tells you whether monuments were legally set and filed, and whether you must file after setting any.
• Tax maps and GIS: locate only; never evidence of boundary, but useful to see the assessed line and any historic fence pattern.

The point of the list is to establish which line was created first and what was monumented, because that governs everything you find in the field.

Hierarchy of evidence: original monuments control over courses and distances; the plat/deed distances are secondary evidence unless the monument is proved unreliable.

• The capped 60d nail 0.7 ft off the fence corner is the best candidate for the deed's "iron pin at a fence corner." A fence corner and a nail 0.7 ft apart is a classic pattern: the fence was rebuilt/re-set off the original pin. If the cap is the client's predecessor's or an identifiable surveyor's, treat the nail as the controlling monument and the fence as occupation.
• The 1998 survey 3.1 ft south of the fence must be reconciled, not ignored - either that surveyor held a different monument, prorated a distance, or simply held the deed line. Its reasoning is part of the record.
• The stone 40 ft off line fits no call; record it as a found stone of unknown origin with ties, and note that it does not satisfy any deed or adjoiner call.
• The fence is occupation, not a boundary; it is mapped with ties and labeled as a fence.

The deliverable: show the controlling monument (with cap legend, ties, and condition), the held line, the measured-versus-record distances and bearings for every line, the 1998 survey line as an unaccepted record line with a note, the fence and the stone with ties, the area by both record and measured, the basis of bearings, and a note stating exactly which monument controlled and why. Silence about the 3.1 ft discrepancy is what gets a surveyor sued.

• The word "certify" is the first problem. A surveyor can certify that a survey was performed per a stated standard and that monuments were set or found; a surveyor cannot certify title or "the boundaries" as a legal fact. Define the deliverable in the contract as a boundary survey of the described parcel with a stated basis of location, and say so in writing before starting.
• The deadline. Friday is fine for a survey map if the records are in hand, but not if it forces you to skip adjoiner deed research or to accept an unresolved line. Offer the client a written schedule: preliminary map Friday showing the evidence and the question, final after the 1998 surveyor's file is obtained. Never let a closing date determine the boundary.
• Adverse possession / occupancy. The 35-year farmed area is a title question, not a measurement question; you locate and depict the fence and disclose the discrepancy, then tell the client in writing that a boundary line dispute exists and that they should consult an attorney. Do not represent the fence as the boundary in a signed document, and do not let the client tell you the neighbor has "agreed" the fence is the line unless the agreement is recorded.