The Ins and Outs of Easements

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Please send me any pertinent informa tion that you have that your article was based on, especially where you stated that "he may not utilize any more land than is necessary for his purposes no matter how wide the easement description is ."My attorney is interested to use your information if it can be helpful in the state of Kansas.

—August Steffen Basehor, KS

The purpose of this column is to advise landowners on all aspects of rural land ownership. Legal advice is never given. As every state has slightly differing laws regarding real estate, this column can give general advice only. It does try to alert people as to when they need to seek an attorney. As you have discovered, not all attorneys are familiar with easement laws in their own state. It is a field unto itself. You do have a problem with the easement user and his attorney, whose letters are typical of attorneys who think they are more conversant with easements than they are in actuality. Since your own attorney is not an expert on easements, ask to be directed to one who is. Or ask a busy local realty agent or title company to direct you to one.

Generally, a driveway may meander anywhere within the confines of an easement in order to utilize the most convenient ingress and egress. The landowner has the right to use all of the land within the easement that is not needed for the driveway. There are many more rights and obligations for both the landowner and easement user. Kansas will also have specific laws that pertain to easements. Good luck in finding the expert you need. I am in the process of buying land. I have received the preliminary title report and there are two pages of fine print spelling out conditions, stipulations, and exclusions, and one page of general exceptions. What is amazing is that these three pages detail what the title company won't insure against. Exactly what do they insure, if anything?

—Brenda Whitehill Oroville, WA

Good question. The preliminary title report and policy is usually paid for and provided to you by the seller. In essence, the seller has hired the title insurance company to prove to you that the seller has a marketable title that can be passed on to you at closing. The title company does this by checking the public record for the chain of title to make sure there are no clouds or incurable defects to the title. As an example of a cloud, take the case of a great aunt who had an interest in the property and whose estate was never properly settled after her death. Until this is taken care of and the heirs sign and record the necessary documents, the seller cannot give you a clear title. On the day you complete your purchase and the sale is closed, a title policy is issued to you. On that day the public records are checked again to make sure no liens or other defects have cropped up to affect the title.

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