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Black’s Law Dictionary defines adverse possession as “1. The enjoyment of real property with a claim of right when that enjoyment is opposed to another person’s claim and is continuous, exclusive, hostile, open, and notorious. 2. The doctrine by which title to real property is acquired as a result of such use or enjoyment over a specified period of time.”
Rebecca Green Thomason – Attorney at Law
This week I tried a small criminal case. My client was charged with criminal mischief for raking leaves from under a fence. The claim was also made that damage was done to the fence. The people on the other side were upset about the verdict. They came to court determined to prove that the fence was theirs and on their property. In other words they tried to use a misdemeanor criminal procedure to settle a land line dispute.
They were in the wrong court and who could blame them. It doesn’t cost money to bring criminal charges. One doesn’t have to she’ll out money to hire a lawyer. These people did come to court with a surveyor for a witness. That I’m sure cost them more than a few dollars. However, a boundary line dispute can cost several thousand dollars.
This type of legal problem is not simple. Many landowners believe that a survey of their property is all that is needed to settle the boundary line. In truth a survey may cause all manner of problems. Old deeds gave description by tree stumps, stobs, and creek beds. This is what we called a mete and bounds description. Most people didn’t have a sexton or a surveyor when it came to dividing land. They did what my grandfather did they walked off the land. They shook on it and money exchanged hands. This is why Alabama has property ownership by adverse possession.
Black’s Law Dictionary defines adverse possession as “1. The enjoyment of real property with a claim of right when that enjoyment is opposed to another person’s claim and is continuous, exclusive, hostile, open, and notorious. 2. The doctrine by which title to real property is acquired as a result of such use or enjoyment over a specified period of time.”This means that even though a recent scientific survey has been completed the legal boundary line may lie in a totally different place. The legal line may be where the original owners of the property walked the line years ago.
So what do you do if you have a disagreement with a neighbor about the location of a boundary line. First see if you can come to an agreement. This is the cheapest, easiest, and quickest way. If that is not possible see an attorney about filing a case in Circuit Court to quite the title of the land.
If a neighbor builds a fence on your property you must ask them to remove it. If you allow them to use and or improve the property for a period of ten years they may be able to claim the property through adverse possession.
This type of disagreements can cause tempers to flare. Try to be civil with the neighbor. As a friend of mine said last week, “that land is not enough to bury me.” Get into a real fight over a little land can lead to exciting criminal problems. It can also be bad for your health.
Rebecca Green Thomason
Attorney At Law
