Easements

Missouri Real Estate Easement Attorney

A real estate easement, also known as a right of way, is the right of someone other than the property owner to use the land in some manner. An easement can benefit another specific real estate parcel, known as an appurtenant easement, or the easement can benefit a specific individual or company, known as a gross easement or easement in gross. A St. Louis real estate easement attorney can explain the different ways easements are created in Missouri.

• An easement by agreement means the owner of the property voluntarily contracted and gave an easement to another.
• An easement by prescription or prescriptive easement can be granted by a court if it is found that for 10 years there has been a continuous, uninterrupted, visible and adverse use of a property that is owned by another.
• An easement by necessity occurs when a larger piece of property is divided, leaving one of the parcels “landlocked” or without access to the public road. The easement by necessity will provide a strip of land over another property, allowing access to the public road.

In addition to simply granting an easement, any easement agreement drafted by a competent real estate easement attorney should specifically define the easement area, preferably with a survey, and contain provisions concerning who will maintain the easement, rights that may be reserved and indemnification clauses.