Deeded Easment

[Largemouthlou]

My question involves personal property located in the State of: Florida The easement in question is a access easement. There is a line of giant old oak trees that we believe where possibly there before the easement was established, were looking through google earth now to verify. The property was 10 acres and lined with the trees then cut in half and back 5 acres sold. The back 5 acres has a road access easement from existing road as well.
If the trees were there before easement established who is responsible to remove?
If there is another road easement to the back property and it is accessible can the property owner be forced to use it instead of access easement?
the property address is recorded on the road easement at back of property. Thanks for any help

[budwad]

You're going to have to do a better job explaining the situation. What I get from your post is that there are two 5 acre parcels. One is on the road front and one is behind the first. There are also two easements one of which has a row of oak trees that are on it.

The problem is that we don't know who you are in the situation. Are you the front parcel or the back parcel? The front parcel would likely be the servient estate (the property that the easement runs through) and the back parcel would be the dominant estate (the parcel that benefits from the easement). We also don't know how the easements were granted, by deed, by plat, by court order. We don't know what the grants say such as maintenance and repair if anything.

To answer your question about the removal of the trees if they impede the use of the easement, typically if the grant is silent on maintenance it is the dominant estate that is responsible to maintain the easement.

If there is another road easement to the back property and it is accessible can the property owner be forced to use it instead of access easement?

The answer to the above question is that it depends on why and how the first easement was established. If it was a granted easement then probably not because once an easement is granted and it runs with the land and not abandoned it is not extinguished. On the other hand, if that first easement was established as an easement of necessity when the property was subdivided or subsequently, then a court could find that the easement of necessity (which in case law is not permanent) is no longer needed in favor of an express grant.

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/...0704/0704.html

[pg1067]

My question involves personal property located in the State of: Florida

Sounds to me like it involves real property, not personal property, and your questions are unanswerable by anyone who hasn't read the relevant deed(s) and seen the property or an assessor's map of the property. I suggest you confer with a local attorney for advice.