Just because you own title to it, do you think your property is safe? Especially if you don't frequently visit the property you own, think again. As a result of inattention and unawareness of the relevant law, people can and have lost title to all or part of their land. Sometimes it's in a property owner's best interest to use adverse possession as a means to extinguish an existing easement on their land, on the other hand. Easements can be created by adverse possession, and here's an introduction as to how.
Adverse possession is a legal concept in American property law. It is a process where real property can change ownership as a result of certain criteria. At its most basic form, title can change hands automatically, and without compensation, when the person who has no current legal title to the land holds the property in opposition to the true title holder's rights for a specific period of time.
Adverse possession doesn't have to specifically refer to the parcel of property as a whole, although it does involve real property. Sometimes the claimant can simply be trying to take a specific right associated with the property. An easement, which is possession of a specific piece of property, or mineral rights to land are what these rights include.
Easements are rights granted by the property owner to a non-property owner, often to allow passage over land so the non-property owner has access to a road. Just like an entire piece of property, easements can be claimed by means of adverse possession. This type of taking falls under the legal doctrine called prescription. Property owners can actually interfere with the easements on their own property in a way as to extinguish them through adverse prescription. If, for example, the property owner installs a gate with a lock that makes it impossible for anyone but himself or herself to use the easement for a period specified by state statute, the easement could be extinguished by prescription.
Adverse possession can consequently work for and against property owners. If someone else is doing the possessing for a specific time period, property owners could stand to lose their land. If, though, the property owner possessed an easement on their land, making it impossible for others to use it for that same period of time, the easement could be extinguished and work in their favor.
Adverse possession is a legal concept in American property law. It is a process where real property can change ownership as a result of certain criteria. At its most basic form, title can change hands automatically, and without compensation, when the person who has no current legal title to the land holds the property in opposition to the true title holder's rights for a specific period of time.
Adverse possession doesn't have to specifically refer to the parcel of property as a whole, although it does involve real property. Sometimes the claimant can simply be trying to take a specific right associated with the property. An easement, which is possession of a specific piece of property, or mineral rights to land are what these rights include.
Easements are rights granted by the property owner to a non-property owner, often to allow passage over land so the non-property owner has access to a road. Just like an entire piece of property, easements can be claimed by means of adverse possession. This type of taking falls under the legal doctrine called prescription. Property owners can actually interfere with the easements on their own property in a way as to extinguish them through adverse prescription. If, for example, the property owner installs a gate with a lock that makes it impossible for anyone but himself or herself to use the easement for a period specified by state statute, the easement could be extinguished by prescription.
Adverse possession can consequently work for and against property owners. If someone else is doing the possessing for a specific time period, property owners could stand to lose their land. If, though, the property owner possessed an easement on their land, making it impossible for others to use it for that same period of time, the easement could be extinguished and work in their favor.
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