TITLE TRIDbits May 2014
Q. The land in question was tidelands claimed however the State had issued a grant to a prior owner. The description in the deed from the seller to our proposed insured only covers the upland; the property covered by the grant is not included in the description. Does the grant area automatically pass with the deed to the upland?
A. Not necessarily.
In 2007, the NJ Supreme Court help in Panetta v Equity One, 190 N.N. 307 (2007) that while a riparian right not mentioned in a deed can be appurtenant, a riparian grant cannot. The Panetta court held that a separately assessed riparian grant is not appurtenant to abutting upland property as a matter of law (at page 324). Obviously, then, if the tideland-claimed area is shown on the municipal tax map as a separate lot, it will not automatically pass with a conveyance or mortgage of the upland.
To the extent the upland and the tideland granted land are included in the same tax lot, the answer is a bit murkier. In this situation, assistance from a member of our underwriting staff should be obtained.
As always, feel free to address any questions to a member of our staff. ALLSTATE Title Agency is a full service Title Insurance Company serving Ocean County, NJ and surrounding areas.
ALLSTATE TITL AGENCY 609-489-0442