How do I establish an easement appurtenant in the state of Minnesota?

The laws for Minnesota easements cover a variety of different situations, and exist to protect something called a right-of-way. One type of easement that exists in the state of Minnesota is an easement appurtenant. Essentially, this means that person A grants person B the right to use person A's land for the benefit of person B. In other words, the land owner lets someone else use his land to benefit that someone else. 

There are a number of reasons this might occur. An easement appurtenant may be granted because a homeowner is landlocked and cannot get to a main street unless he crosses into his neighbors yard. The homeowner may need an easement appurtenant because he needs to run his cable line or some other utility line from the street through his neighbors yard to get access to the utilities. 

An easement appurtenant can be created by drafting an easement document. This essentially is a written agreement that an easement has been granted. It can be filed with the county clerk or municipality and can even become part of the permanent deed of the original property. This would mean that if someone bought the property, the easement would come with it and he'd have to let the neighbor keep his power lines where they are, or keep using that path from the house to the street. 

An easement can also be implied as well, if the homeowner allows the landlocked property owner to use the driveway, even without a formal written agreement or addition to the deed in question.

If you are considering establishing an easement, it is a good idea to get a lawyer to help you to do it properly, though, so you can make sure all of your legal rights are protected.