Adverse possession claim after someone buys the disputed land
We inherited our family home...we discovered we did not own the yard between our house and the neighbors...it was still in the name of the original developer...we had used it as our yard and the 2 sheds on the property for more than 40 years...we hired an attorney and started a title and deed search ...... we always came to a dead end and could find no tax records or a deed until....
When our neighbor died his house and his entire estate was given to the Catholic church in the form of a trust held at a local bank...they are trustees....how we discovered this is because the neighbor house sold and the new people also discovered that we did not own the lots between our houses...his lawyer searched probate records discovered the will and the trust and the new neighbor went to the church and bought the property....
It was never registered at the assessors office and no taxes paid after the original owner because churches don't pay taxes...the church left the property in the trust and the deed was never put into the church name..
The neighbor has a deed now to the property and it is being assessed for the purpose of taxes .... do we still have a case for adverse possession??
Re: adverse possession after someone buys it?
Your dead neighbor got a deed?
Re: adverse possession after someone buys it?
If I didn't know better, I'd say this was a law school exam.
In fact, I do not know who would win here.
No one (it appears) has been paying taxes for many years so that puts everything up in the air.
I'm at a loss here: either side could win.
Re: adverse possession after someone buys it?
I'm sorry I guess I wasn't clear...our neighbor that lived there for years and years...died and when his house sold the new owner discovered that we did not own the property between our 2 houses....so the new owner also started searching for the owner of the vacant lots...he found out is was owned by the church in a trust at the bank....before we did....he had about a years head start on us on that search...
Re: adverse possession after someone buys it?
The time for adverse possession starts whenever the act relied on happens.
It doesn't make any difference who owns the place at the time.
Re: adverse possession after someone buys it?
To seniorjudge...that is exactly what our attorney told us...that this was (one for the books) at law school.....
Re: adverse possession after someone buys it?
So we can proceed with a lawsuit ... but if we get a win...what happens to the neighbor who paid the church for the property...I think he paid them about $5000 for the property...our lawyer saw the quick claim deed that the Bishop signed ...does the church give him his money back...
Re: adverse possession after someone buys it?
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grandmashakey
So we can proceed with a lawsuit ... but if we get a win...what happens to the neighbor who paid the church for the property...I think he paid them about $5000 for the property...our lawyer saw the quick claim deed that the Bishop signed ...does the church give him his money back...
First of all, it is a quit claim deed and there is nothing quick about it.
You'd have to ask the Bishop what happens if you win and the other folks lose.
Re: adverse possession after someone buys it?
Yup you are correct...Quit Claim Deed...although I have known them to be pretty (quick) like when my X signed over his share of our house..bing bang baboom and it was a done deal..
Re: Adverse possession claim after someone buys the disputed land
Well, the fact that no taxes were not paid is not dispositive. Need to check the relevant statute, forty years is a long time. As I recall the payment of taxes is often only a requirement for shorter limitation periods.
Now as for the church, as it gave only a quit claim deed, it gets off the hook. Probably the same thing if the church had given a special warranty. If it had given a general warranty, then the church was warranting good and marketable title.
No title insurance?