LANDMAN STATEMENTS

We recommend that you add a landman statement to each AOI, which will be unique to each client and work product. Here’s the best way to do that:

  1. Input the landman statement as its own digital notecard, dated 1/1/1700 so that it is the first entry on your Runsheet.
  2. Name the subtype LANDMAN STATEMENT.
  3. Attach this landman statement as a Word document, named by the following convention, or any other project-specific convention:
    • Landman Statement – [Tract ID] – [Legal Description] – [(Verified Party Name)]
  4. Upon review of an AOI, a reviewer should make any revisions to the landman statement and convert it to a PDF.

NAMING TRACTS ON THE GRID

A tract covering the entire AOI should be named concisely and accurately on the grid, as should any sub-tracts within it.

The entire AOI can be named according to these conventions:

  • 12-34N-56W
  • SEC3_BLK39_T2S_A-181
  • 123ac_desc_by_M&B_ WD123.456 
  • M&B_ tract_WD76.54

Sub-tracts within the AOI can be named according to these conventions:

  • N2S2NW
    • If the tract above were named in a single instrument as two separate tracts, even if each of them were conveyed (e. g., S2N2S2NW and N2N2S2NW), those two tracts should be named separately on the grid and attached to the digital notecard separately.
    • We do not use a “4” for quarter sections or “/”, as in “NW/4” or “N/2”.
  • 10ac_desc_by_M&B_ WD55.123

Do not include the name of the parent tract within the name of the sub-tract.

Tracts does not require you to input metes and bounds or to draw them accurately. You only need to orient the sub-tracts properly and add the appropriate acreage.

NAMING DEPTHS ON THE GRID

Depths should be added to the grid, according to measurement. Some examples are as follows:

  • Surface to 2,100′
  • Between 2,100′ and 3,000′
  • Below 3,000′

Where measurements are not provided, depths should be named concisely. Some examples are as follows:

  • Depths Above the Teapot
  • Teapot Formation
  • Depths Below the Teapot

NAMING MINERALS ON THE GRID

If the oil and gas are severed, at any point in a chain of title, Tracts allows you to select those minerals separately on the grid.

  1. Select Minerals from the dropdown at the top of the grid, instead of Acreages or Depths.
  2. Create separate squares for Oil and Gas.
  3. Attach the mineral conveyed to the appropriate digital notecard, the same way you would attach an acreage or depth.

CHECKING FOR ERRORS ON THE GRID

  1. Go to the Report tab in the top right of the AOI screen.
  2. Select Summary.
  3. Make sure there are no messages indicating:
    • Overconstrained Acres- The sum of the acreage assigned to sub-tracts is greater than the acreage assigned to their parent tract.
    • Degenerate Acres– The sum of the acreage assigned to sub-tracts is less than the acreage assigned to their parent tract.

FLAGS, ASSUMPTIONS, AND REVERSIONS

A digital notecard should be marked with the “FLAG” toggle in any instance of:

  • An ambiguous interpretation issue, (e. g., fixed vs. floating NPRI);
    • A flagged note should be entered such as:
      • This has been interpreted as a 1/16th floating NPRI.
  • A Tracts auto-generated error message that cannot be resolved by your research;
    • A flagged note should be entered such as:
      • This appears to be an over-conveyance.
  • Any time and instrument is grayed out within a chain of title
    • A flagged note should be entered such as:
      • Grantor appears to be a stranger to title.

A digital notecard should be marked with the “ASSUMPTION” toggle any time you are filling a gap in title to make the chain of title flow.

  • Examples include Affidavits of Heirship, Affidavits of Identity, Ancestry records, Findagrave records, and any other non-conveying records that help you assume that a transfer of interest has occurred.
  • Be sure to include a note stating the assumption you are making. Example:
    • No probate proceedings were found filed of record. Therefore, it has been assumed that John Smith died intestate and that his children inherited his interest in the subject tract.
  • Attach any relevant documentation that supports your assumption, and leave a note about that the purpose of that instrument. Example:
    • ATTACHED: Obituary of John Smith, evidencing that his sole surviving heirs were his two children, named as grantees in this notecard.

A digital notecard should be marked with the “REVERSION” toggle to reflect a reversionary interest (e. g., a term mineral deed, life estate, etc.)

  • Make a note of what will trigger the reversion.
  • If the reversion has already transpired, include any relevant evidence that the reversion has taken place.

PARTIES & ALIASES

See our Party Names Best Practices article for an in-depth look at party naming conventions.

 

BK./PG., INST. NO.

Files attached to each card should be labeled following the “123.456” convention.

Use Bk./Pg., until there’s an OPR Inst. No.. At that point, enter the OPR Inst. No. and Bk./Pg on the notecard, and name the file by Inst. No.

Do not include preceding zeros. I.e., enter 2014.1234, instead of 2014.00001234.