Encountering a boundary dispute with an adjacent neighbor is a fairly common issue for landowners. There are many ways a boundary dispute can arise. Sometimes, deed descriptions are inaccurate and have been this way for a long time. Sometimes, though the neighbors all agree that the legal description is correct, one neighbor has been occupying a portion of the land for long enough to claim ownership of it, under a theory of “adverse possession.”
First, make sure you have a full understanding of the cause and nature of the dispute. You will need to get a professional analysis of whether you are encroaching on your neighbors’ property or vice versa and find out how long the encroachment has gone on, how much land is being encroached upon, and whether permission was ever given to encroach. For more information, read here.
