Most easements last forever, so landowners should be very careful

before allowing an easement to be recorded. Although there are

many things to consider, the scope of the easement – that is, the

uses the easement holder may make of the grantor's

property and the grantor's rights to use the property

burdened by the easement – should be carefully described.

An easement gives the easement holder the right to use land

owned by another. The easement holder can only use the

easement to the extent described in the easement; however, if the

description is (as is common) very terse or unspecific, then the

extent of the permitted use will be grafted onto the easement by

rules that have developed over the centuries and which may be

quite different from the rights the parties thought they had

conferred or obtained.