LSIT Legal and Boundary Principles 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A prescriptive easement differs from adverse possession primarily in that:
- Prescriptive easements require payment of property taxes
- Prescriptive easements grant only a right to use land, not title to it (Correct answer)
- Prescriptive easements can only be acquired by government entities
- Prescriptive easements require a written instrument
Correct answer: Prescriptive easements grant only a right to use land, not title to it
A prescriptive easement grants a right of use over another's land, while adverse possession transfers fee title to the claimant.
Question 2: Which legal doctrine holds that when a deed conveys land bounded by a highway or road, the grantee receives title to the centerline of that road, absent contrary intent?
- Riparian doctrine
- Highway centerline presumption (Correct answer)
- Easement by necessity
- Eminent domain
Correct answer: Highway centerline presumption
The highway centerline presumption (or centerline rule) holds that a conveyance abutting a road typically extends to the road's centerline unless the deed clearly states otherwise.
Question 3: When a deed describes land as bounded by a non-navigable stream, the boundary is typically:
- The edge of the water on the grantee's side
- The centerline (thread) of the stream (Correct answer)
- The edge of the floodplain
- A line 50 feet from the high-water mark
Correct answer: The centerline (thread) of the stream
For non-navigable streams, common law places the boundary at the thread (centerline) of the stream, with each riparian owner holding to mid-channel.
Question 4: The concept of 'riparian rights' is most associated with which property characteristic?
- Proximity to a government survey baseline
- Ownership of land abutting a body of water (Correct answer)
- Rights acquired through long-term adverse use
- Subsurface mineral rights
Correct answer: Ownership of land abutting a body of water
Riparian rights are the water-use and access rights held by landowners whose property borders a stream, river, or other body of water.
Question 5: Under the 'agreed boundary' doctrine, a boundary agreement between adjoining owners is binding when:
- It is recorded in the county deed records regardless of other conditions
- There is uncertainty about the true boundary and the parties fix a line in good faith (Correct answer)
- A licensed surveyor witnesses and signs the agreement
- The agreement is approved by a court of equity
Correct answer: There is uncertainty about the true boundary and the parties fix a line in good faith
An agreed boundary is valid when the true boundary is uncertain and the parties, acting in good faith, fix a specific line as their common boundary.
Question 6: The term 'simultaneous conveyance' is important in boundary law because it means:
- All deeds in a subdivision are recorded at exactly the same moment
- Lots created from the same plat or subdivision have equal (co-equal) rights with no senior or junior priority among themselves (Correct answer)
- Two adjoining owners exchange parcels in a single transaction
- A grantor conveys land to multiple grantees sharing ownership
Correct answer: Lots created from the same plat or subdivision have equal (co-equal) rights with no senior or junior priority among themselves
Simultaneous conveyance means that lots platted together have co-equal rights, so the senior/junior deed priority rule does not apply among them.
Question 7: A 'color of title' claim in adverse possession refers to:
- Any claim supported by a valid, unrecorded deed
- A written instrument that appears to convey title but is defective in some legal respect (Correct answer)
- A verbal agreement that gives the appearance of ownership
- A title insurance policy held by the claimant
Correct answer: A written instrument that appears to convey title but is defective in some legal respect
Color of title is a document that appears to transfer ownership but has some legal defect, such as a flawed deed, that prevents it from being fully effective.
LSIT Legal and Boundary Principles 5
A prescriptive easement differs from adverse possession primarily in that: