A traditional real estate and surveying term referring to the descriptions of adjoining properties, roads, waterways, or other physical features that establish the boundaries of a parcel of land. Historically used in deeds, land grants, and property conveyances, abuttals identify what lies immediately adjacent to a property’s boundaries rather than specifying those boundaries solely through distances, angles, or coordinates. For example, an older deed might describe a parcel as bounded on the north by the lands of John Smith, on the south by a public highway, on the east by a creek, and on the west by the property of Mary Jones. These references to neighboring landowners and physical features are known as abuttals and were particularly common before modern surveying techniques became widely available.
Abuttals can still be important when interpreting historical deeds, resolving boundary disputes, or tracing the ownership of older properties. Because neighboring landowners, road names, and physical features may change over time, surveyors and title examiners sometimes must consult historical maps, recorded deeds, and other property records to determine the original boundaries described by an abuttal. Unlike a metes and bounds description, which generally relies on measured distances and directions, an abuttal identifies a boundary by reference to an adjoining property or feature. Although modern legal descriptions typically employ more precise surveying methods, abuttals remain useful evidence of the intended location of property boundaries, particularly when older descriptions are ambiguous or incomplete.
