We have been paying taxes and have a deed on a piece of land. Our neighbor said it's hers do we have rights?

About 40 years ago my husband grandfather and his brother made a land agreement over and hand shake. They marked the property and his grandparents paid the taxed on it. In 1999 my father in law bought it. They too paid taxes on it and had a deed. When he got sick with cancer we bought it from him and had the deed changed to us. Last fall our neighbor who is the daughter of the brother who made the land handshake tried to say that it was her land. She had it surveyed and they now say the land isn't ours. Do we have any rights to the land since we have a deed and have been paying taxes on in for 7 years? Please help, we don't want to lose this on acre of land that was my father in laws dream.

We have been paying taxes and have a deed on a piece of land. Our neighbor said it's hers do we have rights?
You really do need a "Real Estate" attorney, not a general practice attorney. This question is beyond the legal scope of what anyone here could advise. All I can offer is a little knowledge of the terms %26amp; conditions of your situation.





Adverse Possession:


A means of acquiring title to real estate where an occupant has been in actual, open, Notorious, exclusive, hostile, and continuous occupancy of property for the period required by state law. Permission from the owner, as given by a lease, does not qualify because it is not hostile.





Statutory Period:


The time period of the statute of limitations that must expire before title can be acquired by adverse possession varies from state to state. No statute will begin to run until the adverse claimant actually possesses the property in question under color of title or claim of right, where necessary. As of that time, the landowner is entitled to bring a lawsuit against the possessor to recover the property.





A typical statute will require possession for 7 years, if under color of title (an appearance of legal power to act but which may actually operate in violation of law), or 20 years, if not.





Simply granting permission to be on the land or use it nullifies any claim to adverse possession which as defined has to be open and notorious.
Reply:You need a real estate attorney.





The laws vary from State to State but who pays the real estate taxes does not determine who owns the land. In some States if the people can prove they have used that property on a regular basis they can lay claim to it. I read a Colorado case in which the owners of a vacant lot lost part of it because the neighbors used it over a period of years.
Reply:I think you should ask a lawyer. But before you spend the money, read the deed yourself. Also, ask the entity that you have been paying taxes to. Both of those actions cost nothing. Then, if you decide to go to a lawyer, maybe you will need less of his time.
Reply:This is a complicated issue regarding the validity of the originating oral contract. I can't see this issue being resolved outside of the courts.





Best advice is to get a lawyer working on the case to get this resolved immediately.
Reply:Go to the county registers office %26amp; see who's name the property is in. If you have a deed recorded it is yours. If not, it isn't. Even on a handshake deal the records have to be filed.
Reply:The deed will have the legal description on it which a surveyor can follow. Get a survey and have your property lines marked. You have the deed...you own it! We bought a lot and the neighbor's stairs encroached on our land by 1.5 feet. After the survey was completed, my husband took a cement saw to the stairs and cut off the encroaching portion. When the neighbor came out, we showed him the survey marks, property lines and said he was more than welcome to get his own survey. We haven't had a problem since...and that was 12 years ago....and still neighbors. The law is on your side.

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