Land Surveys: Surveyor and Attorney Perspectives

Agenda / Content Covered

1. Survey Definitions, Types, and Standards
   11:00 - 11:30, Brian Fischer
   1. Key Surveying Terms and Definitions
   2. Types of Surveys and Their Uses
   3. What Surveys Can and Cannot Show You
   4. ALTA/NSPS and State Survey Standards
   5. New ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey Standards
   6. Tips for Finding, Selecting, and Working With a Surveyor
2. Inside Surveys: How They're Done and Mistakes That Can Happen
   11:30 - 12:00, Brian Fischer
   1. Data Sources and Surveying Equipment
   2. How Land Surveying Works
      1. Examination of Public and Private Records
      2. Field Procedures and Evaluation of Field Evidence
      3. Creation and Filing of Map or Plats
   3. How Surveyors Deal With Inconsistent Boundaries and Monuments, Water, and Other Issues
   4. Limitations of Evidence, Survey Methods, and Measurements
   5. Common Surveying Mistakes
3. Reading Maps and Surveys (With Sample)
   12:00 - 12:30, Brian Fischer
   1. Making Sense of the Symbols
   2. Sample Survey Review
   3. How to Read Old Maps and Plats
4. Spotting and Resolving Boundary Line and Easement Issues
   12:45 - 2:15, Jason A. Bielagus
   1. Cross-Reading Surveys, Legal Descriptions, and Title Commitments
   2. Access Issues and Rights of Way
   3. Easements (Recorded and Not Recorded)
   4. Roads, Drives
   5. Covenants and Restrictions
   6. Acreage
   7. Utilities
   8. Old Plats
   9. Boundary Line Issues
   10. Fence Lines, Walls, Driveways, Buildings and Other Improvements
   11. Encroachments and Adverse Possession
   12. Zoning Issues, Setbacks, Buffers
   13. Water Boundaries and Natural Features
   14. Wetlands and Environmental Issues

Accreditation Details:

Jason A Bielagus is an attorney at Bielagus Law Offices PLLC where he focuses his practice on commercial and residential real estate, both transactions and litigation. His experience includes closings, purchases, sales, purchase and sale agreements, deeds, notes, mortgages, foreclosures, lease agreements, evictions, subdivisions, condominiums, and petitions to quiet title, as well as litigation of real estate matters. Mr. Bielagus was an assistant district attorney in New Mexico. He also served as a JAG officer with the Army National Guard. Mr. Bielagus is licensed to practice in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and New Mexico as well as before the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Hampshire. He earned his B.A. degree from St. John's College and his J.D. degree from Suffolk University Law School.

Brian Fischer is with THD Design Group and has more than 30 years of experience in the survey field, preforming a variety of survey types for residential, municipal, commercial, industrial, and government agency clients. He has experience in survey instrumentation and computer aided drafting (CAD) programs, as well as office and survey programs such as Trimble Office, Carlson, and Civil 3D. His management experience includes overseeing drafting and field crews, as well as a branch office for an oil and gas services firm in southeast Texas. Mr. Fischer holds professional land surveyors licenses in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Mississippi, and Texas.