easement maintenance

[tammy sheppard]

Jurisdiction

Georgia

Neighbor dispute on Satilla River. Neighbor has 20ft easement ingress/egress only. Lawyer wrote letter of suit if gate not removed. Neighbor provided key by realtor at purchase. Deeds give Grantor's heirs/successors/assigns river access by 20ft easement which crosses both properties. Plat also gives owners of Lot 1-8 Satilla River access by 20ft easement. We own lot 8. We also own the 20ft easement. Can we keep the gate? It has been up 40 years. Gate was up when property purchased. Can we use the 20ft easement on neighbor property to access river since my husband is the grantor's nephew and we own lot 8? Does neighbor have right to pour concrete on easement without our permission? Can we have a restriction on easement deed recorded in Georgia?

 

[zddoodah]

Lawyer wrote letter of suit if gate not removed.

Wrote letter to whom? What gate?

Neighbor provided key by realtor at purchase.

Key for what? The gate? Whose realtor provided it?

Deeds give Grantor's heirs/successors/assigns river access by 20ft easement which crosses both properties.

Grantor's heirs? That wouldn't make sense. Did you mean "grantee's heirs"?

Plat also gives owners of Lot 1-8 Satilla River access by 20ft easement.

Plat maps don't "give" anything. They merely describe something.

We also own the 20ft easement.

When you say you own the easement, does that mean you own the dominant estate (i.e., the piece of property whose owner is entitled to use the easement) or the servient estate (i.e., the property on which the easement is located)? Also, this statement seems to contradict your earlier statement that your "[n]eighbor has 20ft easement." How can the neighbor "have" the easement but you "own" it?

Can we keep the gate? Can we use the 20ft easement on neighbor property to access river since my husband is the grantor's nephew and we own lot 8? Does neighbor have right to pour concrete on easement without our permission?

You'll have to do a much better job of explaining the facts for anyone to have any chance of opining about these matters.

Can we have a restriction on easement deed recorded in Georgia?

Most easements are restricted in some manner.

 

[tammy sheppard]

Wrote letter to whom? What gate?



Key for what? The gate? Whose realtor provided it?
Our neighbor received a key from Duckworth realty to our gate at the entrance to the river on our property.


Grantor's heirs? That wouldn't make sense. Did you mean "grantee's heirs"?
Actually the deed says, Grantor's heirs successors and assigns. The uncle was trying to reserve right of way to the river for his family. I just wanted clarification on the statement. The neighbor keeps pushing the easement issue. If her deed has this clause recorded in the courthouse, would it give my husband, the Grantor's nephew and the Grantor's son access to use the 20ft easement to the river also. This would also cross the neighbor's land.


Plat maps don't "give" anything. They merely describe something.

Okay, it was stated on the plat that river access is given to lots 1-8 owners. So this would not hold up in court?

When you say you own the easement, does that mean you own the dominant estate (i.e., the piece of property whose owner is entitled to use the easement) or the servient estate (i.e., the property on which the easement is located)? Also, this statement seems to contradict your earlier statement that your "[n]eighbor has 20ft easement." How can the neighbor "have" the easement but you "own" it?

Let me explain more. I own the servient estate. The easement is located on my property. The neighbor has a deed which states a 20 ft easement for ingress and egress access only exists.

You'll have to do a much better job of explaining the facts for anyone to have any chance of opining about these matters.

The neighbor had her lawyer send a letter to us with intent to sue if we did not remove our gate from the entrance. The gate has been located at the entrance and locked with key access since 1980. The neighbor bought the river property last year. Their realtor gave them the key to access the gate. They started an Airbnd business at their cabin and refused to keep the gate locked. She said she did not live in a gated community. We just want the gate to remain for security of our property. She also hired a contractor to place limestone rocks and pour concrete on the road into our property where the easement lies. No one contacted us beforehand. Now the concrete is causing the road to wash drastically since it runs down hill towards the river. Every rain it gets worse. Also, she states she has all these rights by Georgia law to use the easement however she wants and maintain the easement however she wants.

Most easements are restricted in some manner.

If the deed only says ingress/egress access only, where can I find the restrictions placed if any?

 

[zddoodah]

If the deed only says ingress/egress access only, where can I find the restrictions placed if any?

Any restrictions will be in the deed or in agreements between the parties.