One valuable lesson I've learned, when creating a tract with an easement crossing the parent tract to an otherwise isolated tract, write the easement on the same description as the new parcel.
If there were separate documents creating the new tract and creating the easement, and the easement document was recorded first, before the new tract creating document was, then at that moment the easement would be granted upon the lands of the grantor, and therefore would be terminated at the same instant it was created, by merger of title. So that is the major problem with separate documents. One needs to pay particular attention to the order of these things.
With that accounted for I'd prefer to go with JP and use separate documents.
@norman-oklahoma What if the second document reserves an easement to arise on the separation of title?
What if the second document reserves an easement to arise on the separation of title?
That is what would have to be done to ensure that the easement was properly created, if no particular attention was paid - or could be paid - to the order of recording of the documents. One thing that could be tricky with that is the manner of referencing the easement document if the recording numbers were unknown.
I'm not saying that one approach is wrong and the other right. I'm saying that there are pitfalls and virtues in each approach. Know your circumstances and proceed accordingly.
Here at my city we have boilerplate deed language for creating easements of various sorts that, for example in the case of access easements, detail the permitted uses and responsibilities with regard to maintenance, etc., etc. of the proposed facility. If you are just going to throw in "TOGETHER WITH an easement for access over the following: ....." language to the legal description to create an easement, you aren't going to have that sort of detail. Which may lead to future disagreements and litigation. Unless someone undertakes to write a lot of customized legalese into the deed. Its usually easier to use the boilerplate, and take care with the order of recording.
One problem I've encountered more than once was that we had a recorded description of an easement, but the servient estate disputed the validity of said easement. Once or twice over the years we were persuaded to leave by display of a firearm, or by law enforcement called by the servient estate owner without ever confronting us... Not fun. It shouldn't be part of our job to have to determine the validity of a recorded document, in my opinion.
Me. "What's the difference?"
T.C. Carroll "It's the difference between right and wrong!"
This thread has nearly 1700 views in its first week, but, all of the comments were made in the first two days. "computer" searches like the words in the thread title. Help to explain why this is common.