What to Do When Someone Dies Without a WillWhat to Do When Someone Dies Without a Will

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What to Do When Someone Dies Without a Will

Hello, my name is Kerry. Last year my mother died suddenly. When we went through her papers, we discovered she didn't have a will. My mother had been married to another man before she met my father and I had a couple of step brothers. Unfortunately, they turned up on our doorstep and started to demand that we hand over my mother's life savings to them and their family. I contacted a lawyer who specialises in probate law. She talked me through my case and explained how we would defend it in court. Thankfully, the matter was resolved to my satisfaction and I could start to grieve for my mother. I decided to start this blog to help others who have a contested will on their hands.

What You Should Know About Easement in Gross

9 March 2016
 Categories: Law, Blog

There are several conveyancing terms that a potential property buyer should understand prior to appending their signature on a purchase contract, and one of those important terms is easement. An easement is simply a non-possessory legal right which allows someone to use the land for a particular purpose in spite of the fact that they don't actually own the land. You can be surprised to discover after you have purchased a property that it's not wholly private. In fact, you may be legally obliged to allow the local utility company to enter into your land and put up a telephone post or bury a plumbing pipe. For buyers, it's crucial to know if there are any easements tied to the property you intend on buying, besides the effect they have on the acquisition or usage of the property. Here is a typical type of easement you ought to know about.

Easement in Gross

Let's assume you have recently bought a property in a typical out-of-town lot in an Australian city. The property has power lines running across its backyard and plumbing pipes running below it. You own the property but not the power lines and plumbing pipes, because they are owned by the respective utility companies. Although you may not wish to have them on your parcel of land, you're left with no choice as the utility companies enjoy an easement in gross to install and maintain the power lines and pipes.

An easement in gross is a legal right for one party to make particular use of the parcel of land owned by another individual. Theirs is a non-possessory right, because that parcel of land is owned by an individual who has a legal title to the land. In the example provided above, the utility companies enjoy an easement in gross, allowing them to access power lines, sewer pipes, cables as well as other physical structures. More often than not, easement in gross directs what type of activity can transpire in the land. Knowing this information beforehand can help you decide whether or not to close the real estate transaction.

Easement in gross is just one among the different types of easements tied to properties. Your conveyancer should be your close associate when it comes to finding out if there are any easements tied to a particular real estate. The same way you should know about the existence of any structural issues in a property you intend to buy, so you should be conversant with any existing easements that may have a massive impact regarding the usage of your new property.