TSSE Study System

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Try the Texas State Specific Exam course before you buy. Work two analytical situations with every answer explained, then take a short timed sample exam that mixes an analytical situation with legal questions. In the full course every exam is generated new, so no two attempts are alike.

Explained as you go. Choose an answer and you will see why it is right or why it fails, the rule, the work and the authority. Bring a calculator and scratch paper.

Situation KA

You are retained to survey the Amos Sandoval tract. The deed and your field ties are below. Coordinates are Texas Coordinate System, South Central Zone, NAD 83, grid feet; the deed bearings are on grid north.

WARRANTY DEED, JOSEFA YATES TO AMOS SANDOVAL
Recorded 2012. Surveyed by Hiram Kimbrough.
Being 9.09 acres in Lavaca County, Texas: Beginning at a 1/2 inch iron rod found for the southwest corner; thence N 0°39'32" W, 722.32 feet to a 1/2 inch iron rod found for the northwest corner; thence N 89°20'28" E, 548.03 feet to a 1/2 inch iron rod found for the northeast corner; thence S 0°39'32" E, 722.32 feet to a 60d nail in a 4 inch cedar fence corner post found for the southeast corner; thence S 89°20'28" W, 548.03 feet to the place of beginning.

PtFound evidenceNorthingEasting
15/8 inch iron rod, no cap, not called for in any instrument of record13,683,342.592,629,950.60
2Corner post of a net-wire fence13,683,339.272,629,949.04
31/2 inch iron rod; the original northwest corner of the deed, identified and undisturbed13,684,058.522,629,394.34
460d nail in a cedar fence corner post; leaning about 20 degrees, fresh tire ruts and turned soil around it, the adjoining fence recently rebuilt13,683,343.802,629,950.08
51/2 inch iron rod; the original southwest corner of the deed, identified and undisturbed13,683,336.252,629,402.65
61/2 inch iron rod; the original northeast corner of the deed, identified and undisturbed13,684,064.822,629,942.33

Work from the facts given. Do not assume facts that are not stated. If a question cannot be answered without a fact that is missing, that is itself the answer to look for.

  1. 1.
    Analytical · Monuments · Case Law and Legal Principles
    Where do you hold the southeast corner of the Amos Sandoval tract?
  2. 2.
    Analytical · Computation · Case Law and Legal Principles
    How far is point 4 from the position the deed calls put the southeast corner?
  3. 3.
    Analytical · Reporting · Case Law and Legal Principles
    What should your plat show at the southeast corner?
Show the solved sketch
123456record200 ft Grid N
Tract with the corner restored from record

Situation DC

In 1889, Prudence Duran surveyed Block 18 on the ground as a single job, a row of 4 sections numbered 1 to 4 from west to east along the block's north line. His field notes give each section a north line of 1,900 varas. The interior section corners on the north line were marked with stakes in mounds.

You recover the block's original northwest and northeast corners. No other interior corners on the north line can be found. No other evidence shows where the lost interior corners stood, and no later surveys, agreements or conveyances affect these lines.

PtDescriptionNorthingEasting
1Rock mound with a charred stake fragment; described in the original field notes as the northwest corner of the block36,347.416,522.27
2Rock mound with remains of a mesquite stake; the northeast corner of the block per the original notes36,718.4727,780.14
3Corner of an old barbed-wire fence36,562.5714,442.73

Work from the facts given. Do not assume facts that are not stated. If a question cannot be answered without a fact that is missing, that is itself the answer to look for.

  1. 4.
    Analytical · Proration · Case Law and Legal Principles
    From your coordinates, how much excess is there along the north line of Block 18?
  2. 5.
    Analytical · Proration · Case Law and Legal Principles
    Points 1 and 2 are 7,654.00 varas apart (this situation's first question). How far east of point 1, along the north line, do you restore the lost corner between Sections 2 and 3?
  3. 6.
    Analytical · Proration · Case Law and Legal Principles
    Which change to the facts would make proration the WRONG method for this block?
  4. 7.
    Analytical · Proration · Case Law and Legal Principles
    Points 1 and 2 are 7,654.00 varas apart (this situation's first question). After proration, what is the north line length of Section 1?
Show the solved sketch
1231|22|33|45,000 ft Grid N
North line of the block between original cornersHollow circles: restored section corners (section numbers on each side)

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