The Surveyor and Written Boundary Agreements

Abstract

A written boundary agreement is one of several methods—parol agreement, acquiescence and acceptance, and practical location—which can be used to clarify the location of an uncertain boundary line. Unlike the other methods listed, the written agreement requires no litigation to establish the agreed line as a coterminous boundary. A written boundary agreement can also change the location of a line whose position is unambiguous by deed and susceptible to field location. Without a written agreement, a change in a locatable boundary amounts to an unwritten conveyance and, as such, is within the Statute of Frauds. In either case, the execution of the agreement requires an exchange of deeds between adjoiners. The agreed line should be described on the basis of a field survey which ties that line to the lines and corners of the adjoining owners. Once executed, the line agreement appears in the title record of each parcel of land involved.