It's always a good idea to be aware of what the current assessor record says about the property. In my case, the record says my property is a little bigger than it really is, but it would take many years for the tax savings to pay for the survey.
We had a case out here where owner A had owned the land for less than the statutory period for AP. One of the previous owners had built a fence on the bank of a little draw for convenience. The fence was clearly and by all accounts older than the statutory period. He called for a survey and the survey revealed that his fence was approximately 15' inside his line on the north and about 300' inside his line on the south. He owned a 1/4 section. The neighbor had been using this land openly for access, cattle grazing etc for way more than the statutory period. The neighbor sued for AP and lost. So in this case AP didn't become "legal all by itself" as some say. It needed to be adjudicated in a court in order to decide if it was valid or not. As a surveyor, my job is not to tell the owners what they own or do not own in cases of adverse possession. My job is merely to survey the land as recorded in their deed, document any possible encroachments and set the corners where the recorded deed describes. My opinion regarding adverse possession is irrelevant. That is a decision for the owners and courts to decide.?ÿ
We had a case out here where owner A had owned the land for less than the statutory period for AP. One of the previous owners had built a fence on the bank of a little draw for convenience.
Did the case turn on the point that the owner was new, or that the fence was one of convenience??ÿ I have an Iowa case where acquiescence was ruled to not have occurred because the fence followed a ditch, so was one of convenience.
In my State you have to pay taxes on it. Also Adverse Possession has to be adjudicated. It doesn't just happen.
I'm with you Bruce.?ÿ Defending a defensible boundary is an exercise in futility.?ÿ But it would be nice to at least know if the un-filed survey had merit.
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The authorities I have read explained that once the statutory period has run and all the other elements of adverse possession are satisfied then the record owner's title is extinguished. Since no one except the one in possession has a claim to the property enforceable in Court a new Title arises in the adverse possessor. There is no transfer of title.
This has to be proven in Court but the Court is not granting Title, an act which is outside their authority, they are merely recognizing what has already happened.
