Quick reference

Where the answers live

• • Your deed and the chain of title at the county Recorder are the record; the Recorder stores it but doesn't judge who owns what.
• • The Assessor handles tax and value — not title.
• • A survey locates the record line; it doesn't, by itself, settle a disputed boundary.
• • Use the Revisor for the statute. For your own land, ask a surveyor, a title company, or a Missouri attorney.

Deeds & title

• • Recording gives notice and protects priority — it does not cure a forged or defective deed.
• • Owner's title insurance and lender's title insurance are two separate policies; one doesn't cover the other.
• • Missouri does not use one universal seller property-condition form. Protect yourself with inspections, title work, a survey, and written terms.

Boundaries

• • Adverse possession needs every element plus 10 years, and usually a court judgment or recorded resolution.
• • An old fence is evidence of a boundary — age alone does not move the legal line.
• • If a fence, shed, or driveway looks wrong, don't move, rebuild, or concede it before a surveyor and an attorney review the facts.

Minerals

• • The surface and the minerals beneath it can be owned by two different people (a split estate), rooted in common law.
• • To learn who owns the minerals, ask for a mineral-specific title search — a normal title commitment often just sets minerals aside.
• • Don't assume the mineral owner is categorically 'dominant' — surface-use rights depend on the documents.

Water

• • Surface water along a stream or lake follows riparian (reasonable-use) rights; groundwater follows reasonable-use principles too — don't call groundwater 'riparian.'
• • At the capacity to withdraw 100,000 gallons a day you're a Major Water User and must register and report — that's not a withdrawal permit.
• • A landowner may self-install a well on their own land, but DNR rules still apply. Ponds have rules too.

Zoning

• • Zoning is local and often absent — many rural Missouri counties have never adopted it.
• • 'No zoning' does not mean 'no rules': septic, well, floodplain, subdivision, road-entrance, codes, nuisance, and covenants can still apply.
• • Covenants, deed restrictions, and HOAs can still bind the land. Read them early.

Easements & access

• • Many easements run with the land, but some are personal, temporary, or can be terminated — don't assume every one runs forever.
• • Get recorded legal access before a purchase, not just a track someone's been using.
• • A landlocked owner petitions circuit court for a road of strict necessity. Relief is not automatic, and you don't just 'petition the county.'

Fences

• • Missouri has two fence systems — general law and local-option — so step one is finding out which one your county uses.
• • The 'right-hand rule' applies only in particular general-law division-fence situations, not every disagreement.
• • Fence viewers inspect and recommend. The judge issues the actual remedy.

Trespass

• • Purple paint, posted to spec, legally means 'no trespassing' — if you're out and see purple marks, stay out.
• • The Recreational Use Act is not blanket immunity. The 'residential area' exception includes land used for farming or agricultural purposes.
• • Before you open your land, lease hunting rights, or rely on a waiver, have a Missouri attorney and your insurer review it.

Farm

• • Right to Farm carries constitutional weight, but it does not automatically override zoning, health, environmental, nuisance, or permitting rules.
• • Foreign-ownership rules are moving fast. Use the Missouri Department of Agriculture for the current country list and percentage.
• • Ag-tax assessment depends on actual use and the rules — owning acreage doesn't make it automatic.

Eminent domain

• • A taking needs public use and just compensation; farmland can't be declared 'blighted.'
• • Expect at least 60 days' written notice before filing — and don't assume the authority pays for your appraisal or attorney fees.
• • Compensation uses the highest applicable measure: fair market value, the homestead measure, or the heritage measure. They are not stacked. Call an eminent-domain attorney fast.

Caves

• • Missouri is the Cave State — owning a cave entrance doesn't automatically let you travel under a neighbor's land.
• • Never dump anything into a sinkhole. It flows straight to the groundwater that wells and springs draw from.
• • Cave law is RSMo 569.135 (moved here in 2014 from 578.210, so older sources cite 'Chapter 578').

Passing it on

• • A beneficiary (transfer-on-death) deed passes real estate outside probate, and it must be recorded before death.
• • It does not erase mortgages, liens, unpaid taxes, or creditor claims, and it does not replace a real estate plan.
• • How a property is currently held (joint tenancy, tenancy by the entirety) can already control what happens at death.