The snow and ice are gone, temperatures are creeping toward 70°, and school is nearly out. It’s time to start thinking about the cottage. Dreaming of putting the boat in the water. Or lounging with a good book on the beach. Or dreading the disputes with the neighbors over whose beach it is anyway and whether they can do what they do that irritates you so much. If a cold drink is not enough to put those worries aside, you may need to consider expert help. An attorney who knows a bit about beach and water rights.
Not everyone has the right to lay out on every beach. Or to tie up a boat on the shore. Or even to be there at all. But water and beach rights are actually very complex and fact-specific, with a different outcome for one person than for another.
The same is true of access rights. Sometimes there are clear easements. But sometimes people just use the path because that is what “everyone” has done forever. And there are often questions of just what that access allows. Does it include the right to put in a dock? Again, the rules can be complex and very fact-specific.
Sometimes sharing a cold drink gets the best resolution. But sometimes you need to know who has what rights. That’s when we can help.
