My daughter has been living in a farmers she bought with her x husband about 10 years ago. It came with a well easement regarding her well providing water to the neighbors barn. She moved in with her aunt a just down the road following being the victim of a crime at the hands of her adult son. She already is disabiled and it's been a very trying time. Well the neighbors with the well easement used it as an excuse to break into her home not once but twice this week. Her aunt had made a mistake with her financial affairs causing my daughters electricity to be turned off. Within 36 hours these neighbors broke into her home and tampered with her electricity to get the water running for their anaimls automatic waterer. They could have transported water in the interim and should have in the least called her to ask to enter the property but felt that the 40 year old well contract allowed them access to her home. She was still dealing with the legalities of this event when they broke in again this time kicking down the doors. They even took a chisel to the door frame on one door. When the police came they admitted to going in but claimed they didn't break the doors down. The

You probably need an attorney.

Is it a well easement or a well contract?

Does the language of the easement/contract simply allow the neighbors to access the water, or does it state your daughter is responsible for maintaining a pump to get the water up, and that your daughter is responsible for paying for the power for that pump? You need to understand the EXACT requirements of the easement/contract before you have any idea where your daughter stands in all of this.

That said, breaking into a house is also against the law. But perhaps the lives of animals were at stake? Hard to know without more info.

It would probably be a good idea to simply TALK to the neighbors (after you understand what the agreement states). Apologize for the mistake that shut off the power and prevented them from accessing water for their animals. Then work out how to prevent that in the future, and advise them they cannot enter without permission. Ask them how they will handle repairs for the door damage.

Ask LTD how she would handle it.

I'd just file a missing persons report and go clean my shovel. ;)

I have been on the side opposite of your daughter. Here, if the power company knows that it's a shared meter situation, which this is, they should leave the power on in your daughters name.

Here is what happened to me.

I have a tiny SFH that is supplied by water from a neighboring property. This is deeded all the way back to the 1920's.

The neighbor moved to Florida and did a rent to own to a deadbeat that didn't pay rent.

She called me and told me that I needed to figure out how to get power for the well because she had to shut hers off.

What happened was, the tenants stopped using the fuel oil for heat and started using electric heaters and somehow, someway the owner of the property still had the electric in her name. The tenants were supposed to pay it and didn't. I'm not sure exactly how it went down between her and the tenants, but they owed her thousands and she was calling to shut it off and she called me to tell me I was on my own.

I told her that wasn't a possibility for me to put a meter on her house and run the well and that I was seeded. She ended up turning the power off.

I called my lawyer and the power company. What happened was the power company ended up requiring the power to be left in her name because it was a shared meter that serviced my well.

However, she was in Florida and the breakers were off and uncooperative. As a result of suggestions from the power company and my lawyer, I entered the house and turned the breaker back on to the spring house.

This process took two weeks. Luckily, the tenant in the unit at that time was my brother and he just showered st my house.

I had a property with many utility easements and the road was mine that other used for access to their homes.

I had a weight limit on the road and didn't allow heavy construction equipment. During the rains neighbors came onto my road for access with heavy trucks and equipment that damaged it and it had to be re-graded and new gravel place and compacted. Like $4,000 a pop. None of the neighbors would pitch in to fix my road and claimed (which they did) they had an easement to use it.

Then one day, a pipe broke with brought water to my property. I had an easement on one neighbors property, along his lower field of tennis courts, where my water ran to the main street 1000's of feet away. The KEY that I had to open up a gate for access was changed so I couldn't get onto the easement to repair the pipe.

I called the neighbor and asked him for the key to the gate, he blew me off and my tenants needed water. SO I took a bolt cutter and cut one lick of the chain around the fence to gain entry. This neighbor came and found me on his property and called the police filing a false report--almost getting me arrested for trespass and destruction of property.

The only reason why I wasn't arrested for repairing a pipe along the easement was 5 years before I gave the lock and chain to the neighbor to secure the fence and the chain I cut was still the one I had paid for.

SO I blocked off the driveway and denied access to 5 homes up the road, my road. Because the neighbors refused to pitch in for repairs caused by their trucks and usage, their easement over my property and removed. They could build another road, one for each home, coming off the main road, but at a high expense, like 100K per home....

Couple things I've learned. Never buy a property with shared parking and never allow someone else to control your utilities.

They broke in again and stole the generator in the garage. We believe they did this to hide that they could have used the generator instead of running wire to another building on her property which they also broke into earlier in the week.

This isn't a solution you're going to like:

Her neighbors aren't going anywhere, and you don't want her to do something that puts your daughter's life in danger. They already don't have a problem breaking into her house. What else will they do if threatened. They've had the water for so long and feel entitled to it and are willing to break into her house to preserve it. This is a serious problem.

This is going to escalate to the point your daughter fears for her life, if it's not already. To avoid getting someone shot, if I were you, I'd talk to the neighbors and put an end to this no matter how much it cost me, and no matter what is right or wrong.