Determining acreage from property descriptions

[gdonner]

Is there a way to determine how many acres are associated with each of the following property descriptions? I’ve watched a YouTube video that gives a couple of examples, but these descriptions seem more complex to me?

McClain County, OK (Section 12-7-4)

An undivided interest in and to all of the oil, gas, and other minerals in and under and that may be produced from the following described lands situated in McClain County, State of Oklahoma, to-wit: the East Half (E/2) and the East Half of the Southwest Quarter of the Southeast Quarter (E/2 SE/4) of Section 12, Township 7 North, Range 4 West.

McClain County, OK (Section 13-7-4)

An undivided interest in and to all of the oil, gas, and other minerals in and under and that may be produced from the following described lands situated in McClain County, State of Oklahoma, to-wit: the Northeast Quarter of the Northeast Quarter (NE/4 NE/4) and the East Half of the Northeast Quarter (E/2 NE/4) and the East Half of the West Half of the Northeast Quarter (E/2 W/2 NE/4) of Section 13, Township 7 North, Range 4 West.

McClain County, OK (Section 34-8-4)

An undivided interest in and to all of the oil, gas, and other minerals in and under and that may be produced from the following described lands situated in McClain County, State of Oklahoma, to-wit: Section 34, Township 8 North, Range 4 West, including the Kirby #1 and Given Gas Unit #1 wells.

McClain County, OK (Section 38-8-4)

An undivided interest in and to all of the oil, gas, and other minerals in and under and that may be produced from the following described lands situated in McClain County, State of Oklahoma, to-wit: Southeast Quarter of the Northwest Quarter (SE/4 NW/4), the Northwest Quarter of the Southwest Quarter (NW/4 SW/4), the East Half of the Southwest Quarter of the Northwest Quarter (E/2 SW/4 NW/4), and the North Half of the Northeast Quarter of the Southwest Quarter (N/2 NE/4 SW/4) of Section 38, Township 8 North, Range 4 West.

[TODD_M_Baker]

You can determine gross acres, but not net acres. For gross acres read the description from right to left. Ex N/2 NE/4 SW/4 is 20 gross acres.

[PeteR]

@gdonner, as @Todd_M_Baker notes the description can give an estimate of the gross acres, but not the net, or net mineral acres. This also depends on the section being a “regular” section of 640 acres. There are sometimes irregular sections and also correction sections which may vary from the standard 640. In your cases, it appears that all of the sections are regular sections.

12-7N-4W

E2 SE4 80 acres (half of a quarter section)

E2 SW4 SE4 20 acres

13-7N-4W

NE4 NE4 40 acres

E2 NE4 80 acres (note that this overlaps NE4 NE4 above)

E2 W2 NE4 40 acres (half of a half of a quarter)

34-8N-4W 640 acres (entire section)

There is no Section 38, as typically there are 36 sections per township… assuming that section 38 is really section 36?

36-8N-4W

SE4 NW4 40 acres

NW4 SW4 40 acres

E2 SW4 NW4 20 acres

N2 NE4 SW4 20 acres

Hope this is enough to get you started.

[gdonner]

@PeteR Very much so–thank you! I’m thankful you also caught the incorrect Section 38–I need to find out how to go about correcting it, as these property descriptions were (unfortunately) recently probated as part of a will. Argh.

[gdonner]

@TODD_M_Baker Thank you! Much appreciated.

[TODD_M_Baker]

Easy to correct a scriveners error with a nunc pro tunc order. Just contact the attorney that handled the probate.

[gdonner]

@TODD_M_Baker Many thanks! I’ve contacted the attorney.

[TennisDaze]

Ask the attorney about adding a catch-all note to the distribution along the lines of ‘and all other real property, including minerals, in XXX County, OK owned by the decedent.’ That way you are covered in case there is an unknown tract.

[gdonner]

@TennisDaze Great advice–thanks!

[gdonner]

The “Section 38” was my error (it’s also Section 34 like the paragraph above it), and wasn’t in the original probate, but text I thought I had correctly copied and pasted into a separate document for simpler tracking. I’ve since let my attorney know to disregard my screw up. Argh.

Not sure how I goofed that up, but I have the bad habit of surprising myself with my own mistakes.

[PeteR]

@gdonner, there are a lot of places these descriptions can get messed up, but sometimes it’s just us. You might also double-check section 13 where the NE4 NE4 and the E2 NE4 overlap. It’s not absolutely incorrect, but it can be confusing and you would always have to remember not to double count the acreage in the NE4 NE4. If you are like me, a few weeks from now you won’t remember details like that.