• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Fenced Property line dispute

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

jdman

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York

There is an old fence that my Dad was told by the previous owner (whom are all deceased now) is where the property line is in the woods. My mother is still alive and owns the property now. My parents bought the land 40 years ago and my Dad always told me that was the property line and have used the property within the old fence line all these years.
One neighbor had her land surveyed and my Mom now stands to lose 3 acres. Her lawyer said to hire her own surveyor and see what their survey says up against her surveyor. This seems logical, but a friend of mine mentioned something about adverse possession. I understand it a little bit. Mom mentioned it to her lawyer but he said the same thing as before, he acted like she didn't know what it was. I was wondering if it would be worth pursuing adverse possession--if there was a good chance my Mom would be awarded it by a court? Thanks in advanced.
 


HomeGuru

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York

There is an old fence that my Dad was told by the previous owner (whom are all deceased now) is where the property line is in the woods. My mother is still alive and owns the property now. My parents bought the land 40 years ago and my Dad always told me that was the property line and have used the property within the old fence line all these years.
One neighbor had her land surveyed and my Mom now stands to lose 3 acres. Her lawyer said to hire her own surveyor and see what their survey says up against her surveyor. This seems logical, but a friend of mine mentioned something about adverse possession. I understand it a little bit. Mom mentioned it to her lawyer but he said the same thing as before, he acted like she didn't know what it was. I was wondering if it would be worth pursuing adverse possession--if there was a good chance my Mom would be awarded it by a court? Thanks in advanced.
**A: have they been paying taxes and actually been using this property?
 

jdman

Junior Member
It has been logged 2 or 3 times in 40 years. Have cut firewood off of it and use it for hunting. The "neighbor" has been paying taxes on it and so has my parents.
 

jdman

Junior Member
Long story, but will make it very short. The county had on the tax map lines that we only owned half of the woods what she had surveyed but the county says we own 107 acres as the deed says. If that tax map line were true then it would have cut the property down about 15 acres. I haven't seen her deed but I heard it said she owned 75 acres. Her surveyor pinned her property and now she only owns 60 acres. Her surveyor told another neighbor that her deed was really messed up (surveyor blamed it on lazy lawyers.) She might have had an old abstract like my Mom does which is from 1866. Makes we wonder if ours isn't messed up too?
 

jdman

Junior Member
Mom and I discussed some things and we decided to wait until a survey is done on her property. If the neighbor's pins agree with Mom's surveyor's pins and the acreage are the same as stated in Mom's deed then she is not going to push adverse possession and let it be as it is. Why bother wasting time in court over 3 acres that wasn't yours to begin with; especially when the other party was paying taxes also? I do want to still know if there would have been a case here so I can let this lady know my Mom could have been a (5 letter word starting with "B") also, as this lady was, in the beginning. One thing I myself would like to do is maybe work together with this lady to help her get some money back from the county. I do feel sorry that she has been paying taxes on land that is not hers. I am sure they won't refund her tax money, but maybe she could go after the county to
reclaim her monetary loss on surveying? One more thing, the woods was logged to the fenceline over 2 years ago, can this lady go after my Mom to get reimbursed for those trees? This was the main reason I thought about adverse possession, to protect my Mom from having to pay for those trees. I know this topic has some difficult issues involved in it, I assume that is why my Mom's lawyer acted dumbfounded about it LOL. I will keep this site updated when everything is resolved because I think it is proper since there are lawyers and people with experience on here dedicating their time for free. It is only fair so these lawyers can use this information on cases or situations with their paying
clients. I thank you and Mom thanks you HomeGuru for helping and anyone else who does.
 
Response

Get the survey done and that will solve most of your questions. The other woman would be on her own to try & collect any rebate of taxes.
 

rowz

Member
though your mileage may vary, I believe that it is the responsibility of the homeowber to 1) know what it is they own and, 2) be sure that they are paying the correct amount of taxes due on the property that they own.

I believe that no rebate/refund is due.

Trust what you are told.....buit verify that it is true.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top