The following words and phrases, when used in this subchapter, shall
have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1) Appropriate County--The county or counties in which the
tract of land claimed by the claimant is located.
(2) Board--The School Land Board.
(3) Claimant--A person who has filed an application with the
General Land Office for a patent under §11.084 of the Natural Resources
Code.
(4) Chain of Title--Unbroken and successive written conveyances
of record, or other written forms of alienation recognized under the laws
of the state of Texas as sufficient to convey interests in land, affecting
the tract or tracts of land claimed by the claimant, arranged consecutively,
from on or before January 1, 1952, down to the present holder.
(5) Color of Title--An unbroken chain of transfers of the claimed
tract or tracts dating back at least as far as January 1, 1952
(6) Commissioner--The Commissioner of the General Land Office.
(7) Deed--A written instrument of conveyance, regular on its
face, that conformed to the requirements of Texas Property Code or the laws
of the state of Texas at the time of execution and that would have conveyed
title, except for title being in the state of Texas.
(8) Documents Necessary To Support the Claim--
(A) A deed to claimant or claimant's predecessors in interest
recorded in the county or counties in which the claimed tract or tracts is
located,
(B) all instruments of conveyance or other forms of alienation
necessary to prove chain of title,
(C) documentation the claimant deems necessary or assistive
in explaining the deed or chain of title, and
(D) such other documentation as the commissioner shall deem
necessary to process the application.
(9) Not Patentable Under the law in effect before January 1,
2002--Other than pursuant to the provisions of §11.084 and §11.085
of the Texas Natural Resources Code, claimant has no right to obtain a patent
on the tract or tracts in the application.
(10) Person--A natural person or persons or an entity or entities
that are recognized by, and are in good standing with, the state of Texas
at the time of the filing of the application.
(11) Unanimously Approves--An approval of all members of the
School Land Board, as opposed to approval of all members present and voting.
(12) Actual Knowledge--The claimant or claimant's predecessors
in interest possessing knowledge of a fact. Actual knowledge embraces facts
which a reasonably diligent inquiry and exercise of the means of information
at hand would disclose.
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