Thursday, 23 June 2011

Encroachment This, Encroachment That: Beyond Definitions

By Adam Ciboch


You may know that sometimes boundary lines are confused when it comes to property. Maybe a mistake was made by the initial land surveyor. Water erosion may have caused a change to a boundary line. Inattentiveness on the part of a neighbor is also a likely candidate.

That misunderstandings happen may come as no surprise. What may be surprising, however, is just how many different types of encroachments exist. Some of them aren't even physical manifestations. Read on.

An encroachment is an illegal intrusion of some kind onto the property of another when boiled down to its simplest definition. An obstruction doesn't even need to exist when it comes down to intrusion onto a highway or a navigable river. The simple fact that it is an illegal intrusion is enough. A fixture needs to exist for a street or highway to be encroached upon. A wall or fence will suffice. You've got yourself an encroachment, as long as it illegally intrudes into or invades the property of another in some way.

Adverse possession is an additional legal issue that encroachment brings up. Adverse possession helps allow an intruder to claim title to a parcel or portion of land, even if they don't currently hold a legal title to it. Quieting title, as most lawyers would call it, requires many factors. Such things as holding yourself out on the land openly, notoriously, continuously and in a hostile manner for a specific period of time defined by statute are all included in adverse possession's requirements. Each state requires a different length of time. Be sure to act quickly and effectively, if you do not want this occurring on your land. Seeking the advice of a legal professional is sometimes wise, as well.

Another fact you may not know is that temporal encroachment also exists. As opposed to being a physical manifestation by way of a structural obstruction, temporal encroachment instead is an invasion on a person's perception of time. Temporal encroachment sometimes also affects a person's future actions. If you have a gossiping co-worker who likes to interfere with your work day, just tell them to stop temporally encroaching on your work the next time they do it. Check to see how they take that!




About the Author:



No comments: