[WSBARP] Easement v. Fee Interest

[Wesley C. McMahon]

Question: Client owns Lot 1.  Abutting Lot 1 to the West and South is Tract E.  West of Tract E is a neighborhood park, and south of Tract E is Lot 7.  Lot 1 and Tract E were both created by a short plat in 1982.  The short plat has an arrow pointing to the western portion of Tract E that calls it a 20' gas easement.  The short plat on the side states the owner of Lot 1 "to have an undivided interest in Tract E."

The sellers to my client, who purchased Lot 1 earlier this year, were the first owners of Lot 1 since it was created.  They have since gone off the map and are unreachable.  The sellers apparently were paying property taxes on Lot 1 and the western portion of Tract E since both were created and the King County parcel viewer shows them both as being one lot.  The southern portion of Tract E appears to be a different tract, owned  The legal description shows Lot 1 of the short plat, then states along with an undivided interest in Tract E, and "an easement for access purposes over the remaining undivided interest in Tract E of said plat."

I'm not sure if the description of "undivided interest" in Tract E created an easement or a fee interest.  Or, if it did create an easement, but the owners of Lot 1 have been paying property taxes for the last 30 years and using Tract E as theirs, whether they have an adverse possession claim.  Any insight would be really helpful.  Thanks!



Wesley C. McMahon
Partner
Moultray & McMahon, PS
www.Moultray.com<http://www.moultray.com/>
11661 SE 1st Street
Suite 201
Bellevue, WA 98005
Phone: 206-777-1435
E-Mail: Wes at Moultray.com<mailto:Wes at Moultray.com>

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