Easements:

Easements are usually straightforward, and as long as proper form is used, it is a pretty simple process. One of the biggest problems with easements is they are generally not specific enough as to the purpose of the easement which ends up causing problems later on when successive owners replace the original easement holders and interpret this general language different from what it had been in the past. Most people do not realize that an easement is the grant of use of your property, which really should be paid for, although most easements do not involve compensation.

I had a recent case in which an easement that was created in the early 70s, and then re-issued in the early 90s to allow for ingress and egress over a very tiny 10-foot-wide meandering country lane which was granted to give access to a water-front lot zoned multi-family. When the owner applied for, and was granted permission to build six condos on this property, the easement giver sued, claiming the easement never was intended to provide access to multi-family structures. The problem was the easement was very general, with no specific language. However, the easement giver had no documentation or proof, other than his own statements, as to what was the intent of the easement.

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