Easment for Landlocked Parcel in Texas

Full question:

My mother passed away in 2005 and left a Ranch in Stephens County Tx to my brother , sister and myself in equal parts. The will was probated and all three were named as executors. My sister and I wish to sell our 2/3 of the Ranch but a real estate agent told us we need a road easement for land that we cross to get to our Ranch. The owner of this land is agreeable to giving us an easement of ingress and egress through his land. Is it possible for me to sign an easement with this landowner using the Texas USlegalforms.com Ingress and Egress Easement form so that it also covers my brother and sister. They live far away and it is near impossible for them to meet me and the landowner all at the same time in front of a Notary. My brother is not selling his part now and I need it to cover his part later on under the easement agreement so he would have no trouble selling his part later. Does this form cover the land described ( our Ranch ) or just the person signing it? Another question is .... Our Ranch is in Stephens County but the road that is own the land we cross is partly in Stephens county and partly in Palo Pinto County, TX. Do I need a separate easement form for each county or just one filed in both counties ( With both counties listed on the easement document)? Thank You.

• Category: Real Property
• Subcategory: Easements
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: Texas

Answer:

It is possible to use forms offered by USLegalforms to create an easement. The need for more than one agreement may arise in the case of multiple owners, but if the property in question is owned solely by one owner, one agreement should suffice. In the case of joint owners, if there is a holdout who does not join in a conveyance, the easement may not be valid. Absent consent or subsequent ratification, the general rule is that one cotenant may not impose an easement on the property in favor of a third party.The form may descibe the property as being located in more than one county. I suggest contacting the local recorders' offices to see if it is possible for the easement to be recorded in both counties, as rules vary by local office.

An easement by necessity is allowed by law for the full enjoyment of property. An easement to provide access over adjacent property if crossing that property is absolutely necessary to reach a landlocked parcel would be one granted by necessity. Parcels without access to a public way may have an easement of access over adjacent land, if crossing that land is absolutely necessary to reach the landlocked parcel. This easement is extinguished upon termination of the necessity (for example, if a new public road is built adjacent to the landlocked tenement). An easement by necessity arises only when "strictly necessary".

However, the landlocked owner might be required to obtain a license for a new commercial use or to cause damage during access (e.g., a logging road or blazed trails). Some states disfavor granting easements by necessity when the need was created by the owner's own actions, say, by selling off plots of land resulting in a landlocked parcel.

There are basically two types of easements- easements in gross and appurtenant easements. Easements in gross are personal rights given to individuals or specific groups. Once the easement owner dies or, in the case of corporations, dissolves, the easement terminates. Appurtenant easements are more permanent and are given to both the property and its owner. If the property owner with an easement sells the property, the new buyer gains the easement rights that belong with the property. To be a legal appurtenant easement, the properties involved must be adjacent to each other and must be owned by separate entities.

When the title is transferred, the easement appurtenant typically remains with the property. This type of easement runs with the land; which means that if the property is bought or sold, it is bought or sold with the easement in place. The easement essentially becomes part of the legal description.

Joint tenancy is a form of ownership by two or more individuals together that differs from other types of co-ownership in that the surviving joint tenant immediately becomes the owner of the whole property upon the death of the other joint tenant. State law, which varies by state, controls the creation of a joint tenancy in real property. Joint tenancy property passes outside of probate; however, it may be severed so that the property becomes part of one person's estate and passes to that person's heirs. Each joint tenant has an equal, undivided interest in the whole property, and may enter onto, take possession of the whole, occupy, and use every portion of the common property at all times and in all circumstances. All joint tenants, and their spouses, must sign deeds and contracts to transfer or sell real estate.