Adverse Possesion

I have a question about adverse possesion in NJ. My family has used a vaycant lot directly connecting to their property for over 30 years. They have a fence on this property, multiple car/trucks/trailors over the years as well as storage containers. I have read all I could about adverse possesion, and from all the laws I see this property should be theirs. For NJ the law is 20 years or more and they are well over that. The lans was previously owned by the township for years, then it was sold to a private person who is attempting to remove them from the property. I wanted to get any info anyone you can give me on this, and I wanted to verify it anyone can tell me, that yes this property should be theirs through adverse possesion.

Thanks,
Al

The New Jersey Supreme Court would disagree with you.

The Court's decision in J & M rejects what was previously accepted as a 20-year statute of limitations -- and establishes a 30-year/60-year rule, relying upon N.J.S.A. 2A:35-1

(jurisdiction in real property possessing actions) enacted over 50 years ago, as having superceded and rendered obsolete the provisions of N.J.S.A. 2A:14-6 and N.J.S.A.2A-7:We hold, therefore, that because N.J.S.A.2A:35-1 contains no specified time in which proceedings must be instituted hereunder, itspractical effect is to supercede those provisions in N.J.S.A. 2A:14-6 and -7 that create repose for common-law ejectment actions after twenty years.

If we have misperceived the Legislature's intended scope of N.J.S.A.2A:35-1, or any other statute we have interpreted in this opinion, the Legislature is of
course free to correct our interpretation.J & M Land Company v. First Union Bank,166 N.J. 493 (2001).

The lans was previously owned by the township for years, then it was sold to a private person who is attempting to remove them from the property.

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When was the land sold to the private person? This is important because you cannot adversely possess land that belongs to the government, or any government agency. So, if the land was sold to the private party more than 20 years ago, then hire a lawyer and file an action to quiet title on the property. However, if the 20 year period has not passed since the sale of the land, your parents are out of luck unless they can hold on until the 20 years passes against the private owner. All those years on the land while it still belonged to the township just won't count towards the running of the statutory clock for adverse possession.

I thought in most cases treating land as your own to claim adverse possession, includes paying property taxes during the time you acted like you owned it. Doesn't NJ require that?

efflandt said:

I thought in most cases treating land as your own to claim adverse possession, includes paying property taxes during the time you acted like you owned it. Doesn't NJ require that?

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The point is moot. Look at my response.