As you have learned throughout this course, there are various methods in acquiring property. Similarly, there are various rights and duties associated with property acquisition and ownership. These rights and duties are created in situations such as adverse possessions, property purchases, licenses, easements, encumbrances, etc.
Easement agreements are simply contractual agreements. Easement agreements must conform to the specific contractual requirements, especially relative to Statute of Frauds. Therefore, the traditional contractual principles will apply here, which we will study in more detail next week, in addition to state statutory authority that clarifies these same aspects.
Scenario
Suppose Ms. Landon and Mr. Tracks come to your office for the preparation of an easement. Ms. Landon owns a large parcel of land; she and Mr. Tracks are in negotiations to sell to Mr. Tracks half of her land. Her home is 240 Winter Street, Your town, Your state. Mr. Tracks’ property will be landlocked, so Ms. Landon has agreed to grant him an easement across her property, so that he may come and go freely, via Winter Street. The parties want to formally put their agreement in writing, as this will be incorporated into the purchase price.
Instructions
Prepare and submit a joint driveway easement that would cover their rights to use the joint driveway, which includes the following information within the agreement itself:
a. Grantor
b. Grantee
c. Date
d. Consideration
e. Words of Conveyance
f. Legal Description (you can be creative and create your own legal description; but, it must adhere to the metes and bound requirements or similar legal description methods)
g. Granting Clause
h. Encumbrance Clause
i. Any Miscellaneous Clauses
j. Testimonial Clause/Witnesses and Acknowledgment (including notarization)
Tips and Suggestions
(1) Be sure to refer to your state's statutes that may address the parties’ rights and that may assist in adhering to your state’s standard on document preparation relative to Statute of Frauds, agreements involving real property and the recording of same.
(2) Remember that this agreement is a contractual one, so you want to provide the necessary elements and incorporate the necessary contractual principles in this agreement. For a review of contract principles go to pages 90 through 95 in the text.
(3) Be creative. Consider the various factors in this scenario that may affect each party’s rights and obligations relative to this easement agreement.
(4) Create an organized and formatted agreement.
(5) Samples are provided at the following resources, which provide a variety of easements (commercial, conservation, etc.):
Airport Land Use Compatibility Guidebook. (2003, January). Appendix I: Sample - Agreements and Easements. Retrieved from http://www.oregon.gov/Aviation/docs/resources/AppendixI.pdf
Pennsylvania Land Trust Association. (n.d.). Models specific to local government: Conservation tools. Retrieved from http://conservationtools.org/library_items/topic/166-Model-Conservation-Easements
U.S. Legal Forms, Inc. (2017). Texas ingress and egress easement and maintenance agreement: US legal forms. Retrieved from http://www.uslegalforms.com/tx/TX-EAS-1.htm
Sample Solution