I'm not a North Carolina attorney, and there can be differences between the states' laws on this subject.  More importantly, nobody could give you reliable advice about this without at the very least seeing how the deed is worded.  One place to find a lawyer in your area, who can help you try to sort this out, is our website, http://attorneypages.comSometimes, rights of way (called "easements" in some jurisdictions) are created by courts.  It sound like these, though, or at least the one with the road maintenance agreement, were created by bargaining and agreement between the people who owned the two parcels of land at the time.  The history and purpose of that agreement might well prove to be very important here.