Adverse Possession in Los Angeles County
My question involves real estate located in the State of: California
I have been living in a small home in the hillsides around Los Angeles for 14 years and paying property taxes for that time. When I moved in the property lines were determined by piled up stones around the property although it was never an issue since this is a rather rural area. Six years ago one of my cats was killed by a coyote and I put up a chain link fence inside this stone boundary line to protect my other animals. This week, unexpectedly I came home and found an orange stake in the garden I planted and nurtured for ten years saying "corner block" After asking around I found that my next door neighbor had her property surveyed and the rather scruffy looking outfit determined the lot boundaries which are like twenty five feet from where my fence stands. I walked the stone boundaries and found the remnants of another fence that probably dates from the 1940's which is about the time her place was built. It appears that that stone boundary was used for many years to separate the lots. The piece of land in my garden is very small in comparison to the neighbor's land on the rest of the hillside but I wonder if she might ask me to take down my fence and open up the garden to problems. Since the boundary has existed for fourteen years, has been accepted for that time and I have paid property taxes on same for the entire time can I file for advserse possession to protect my garden? Also is an attorney necessary for this process? I have the deed but have never had my property surveyed. I don't want to antagonize the neighbor but want to be sure I am protected from losing my garden.
Re: Adverse Possession in Los Angeles County
Yes, you can file for an adverse possession claim any time you want.
Do you need an attorney? Trying an adverse possession claim by yourself is kind of like performing an appendectomy on yourself. Maybe someone has done it and survived, but why go there?
If the piled up stones are not called out in your deed, they are probably just piled up stones.
Re: Adverse Possession in Los Angeles County
You need to ask an attorney, but he will probably tell you it is not worth it. Did you ever tell anyone it was your land? Did you ever defend the area? Do you have a deed to it? what are the different requirements of adverse possession you will need to prove to successfully defend your claim?
One more thing to consider is that when claiming adverse possession, one must successfully prove ALL the requirements of AP, otherwise one will lose his case.