Plats, Descriptions and Record Research
Plats, Descriptions and Record Research tests how you build a chain of title and interpret the written and graphic record. The exam expects registry research, deed construction, and reconciliation of conflicts.
Core rules
- Search backward through grantor/grantee indexes to establish a chain, then pull the full instruments and any referenced plans. In New Hampshire, deeds and plans are recorded in the county registry of deeds; probate and town records may supply additional evidence.
- A description may be metes and bounds, a lot and block reference, a reference to a recorded plan, or a combination. Incorporate the referenced plan as if set out in the deed.
- When calls conflict, apply the same hierarchy used in retracement: natural monuments, artificial monuments, courses and distances, area-unless the deed shows a contrary intent.
- Read the entire instrument and the chain; reservations, exceptions, rights-of-way, and prior conveyances can limit what a parcel includes.
Worked example
A deed conveys 'Lot 4 as shown on Plan No. 123, recorded in the Strafford County Registry of Deeds, containing 1.0 acre, more or less.' The recorded plan shows Lot 4 with 1.25 acres. Because the deed incorporates the plan by specific reference and the area is qualified by 'more or less,' the plan's lot lines control. The 1.0-acre figure is evidence, but it does not shrink the lot.
Traps
Using a tax map as a legal description; relying on an unrecorded plan; searching only the grantor index; missing a prior easement or exception; and treating an online index entry as the complete instrument. Also watch for plans that were approved but never recorded.