Neighbor drilled well on my property

[persiababy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Arizona

My neighbor drilled her well on my property and wants me to sell her the bit of property that it is on. I don't want to. What other options are there?

 

[JETX]

My neighbor drilled her well on my property and wants me to sell her the bit of property that it is on. I don't want to. What other options are there?

Depends. What do you want to do??
You can:
1) Give her an easement to access and use the well. It can be for a specific duration or perpetual.
2) Agree to charge her an 'access fee' to allow her to enter your property or to maintain a pipe to access the well. This can be a one-time fee or a month or annual fee.
3) Sell her the well and a strip of land to access the well.
4) Build a fence around the well and post no trespassing signs.

Whatever you decide to do, have a local attorney draw up an agreement and have it properly recorded.

 

[persiababy]

Thanks for the answers.

Selling the land seems the cleanest, but we're a bit far apart in price.

Are there any legal rules that give me leverage for improving that situation? Is it possible that I can claim the well?

I'm not sure what denying her access or forcing her to trespass will accomplish -- except try to force her to negotiate for proper sale.

 

[JETX]

Are there any legal rules that give me leverage for improving that situation?

Yep. Doing any of the steps I provided will likely 'accentuate' the issue.

Is it possible that I can claim the well?

Of course you can. Read #4 in my earlier post.

 

[persiababy]

Thanks. I didn't think a fence was enough to legally make the well mine with rights to stop her taking water. I thought that there was a legal process necessary for claiming ownership that might involve going to court; with the potential to take quite a bit of time and expense.

You're saying that with a fence, the well is mine?

 

[JETX]

Thanks. I didn't think a fence was enough to legally make the well mine with rights to stop her taking water. I thought that there was a legal process necessary for claiming ownership that might involve going to court; with the potential to take quite a bit of time and expense.

You're saying that with a fence, the well is mine?

Of course it is. In fact, it is YOURS without the fence. The fence is just to set the property line.... and to allow you to enforce your 'no trespassing' sign. With the fence and the sign, you can call the police/sheriff and have her arrested if she enters YOUR property.

If I were to go onto your property, drill an oil well and hit a gusher, do you really think that the oil and proceeds would be mine??