{"id":7494,"date":"2026-06-01T09:44:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T13:44:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/?p=7494"},"modified":"2026-06-01T09:45:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T13:45:02","slug":"the-easement-on-the-title-can-we-be-100-sure-it-still-exists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/the-easement-on-the-title-can-we-be-100-sure-it-still-exists\/","title":{"rendered":"The Easement on the Title: Can We Be 100% Sure It Still Exists?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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An easement grants the right to use someone else’s property for a specified reason. You probably know this. But do you know the difference between a recorded easement deed<\/a>, and the actual way an easement is used?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just because an easement deed is recorded, you might assume it still legally exists. And you\u2019d likely be right. But not in every case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Property Laws Are in the State Code\u2014But Continually Shaped in the Courts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Property law in the United States has a long tradition. It dates back even before colonial times\u2014back to the courts of England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But not every state treats laws on such topics as easements exactly the same. If people disagree about the law, and need to know what their rights are, they might take their cases to the courts. So, each state has its own history of case law\u2014that is, the law that\u2019s made in its courtrooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider an easement question that recently came up in a New Jersey courtroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An easement is a legal right to use another person\u2019s land for a specific purpose. If that other party is clearly no longer in need of the easement, does the homeowner still have to honor it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether you live in New Jersey or elsewhere, you\u2019ll want to know how the court answered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use It or Lose It: New Jersey Court Points Out That Easements Can End Without Official Releases<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A recorded easement doesn\u2019t always need a recorded release document to end. Questions on this point have just been addressed in New Jersey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Per the recent court case, an easement can be \u201cdeemed abandoned under New Jersey law\u201d if the party who\u2019s allowed to use the easement avoids using it. But the facts were specific. The easement holder had refrained from using the easement for a long time. Plus, it had been physically separated off from access. Decades passed without question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this case, the New Jersey court let the facts speak. The court deemed the right-of-way abandoned, and the easement legally ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is an excellent example of a court creating a fair remedy when a party isn\u2019t exercising its rights.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What You Find in the Title Search Is (Maybe Not) What You Get<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Recorded instruments such as land deeds and easement deeds represent legal rights and obligations. Yet they might not, in every case, tell the whole legal story. If a dispute turns into a legal action, a court will look at more than what\u2019s written within the four corners of a deed. A court looks at the patterns of use of the land, how it\u2019s being physically managed, and the parties\u2019 interactions.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In January 2026, an appellate court in New Jersey considered a recorded easement that was created to allow the neighbor to park. But it hadn\u2019t been used in decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This case, PC Clark Property LLC v. Halstead Realty LLC<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n