Posted on 06/23/2006 1:51:16 PM PDT by mirkwood
My family has been going through a land dispute for well over 8 years. The neighbor cut our trees down and put a trailer on our land. In Maine it seems to be okay :sheriff says i can't do town says; i can't do state police says ; I can't do attorney says $kaching on 7-8 years of bull. Please GOD get me one person who can cut through the red tape. I am the land owner!!
It is extremely difficult in maine I am the only one with a legal land survey. NO ONE CARES
I once was involved with a land dispute. I found that the attorney actually tried to make things worse in order to rack up bigger fees.
The laws on propery use are clear. If you have county documents showing your property lines and have notified your neighbors repeatedly in writing on many occations, you may want to try to engage them in a discussion about rental or removal. Failing that, ask around locally for a good, ethical lawyer who can assist you in making arrangements for removal of their offending property from your land. Be clear with your lawyer, and especially the other party directly about your goals, your desire to work out a reasonable solution and the limited degree of work you will assigning to the lawyer. Anything that goes to Superior court will cost $5k plus and take a long time, so try to work something out short of that step.
What is adverse possession?
Traditional common law provided a method for someone to obtain title to land through use. The common law rules for adverse possession have been codified under both federal and state statutes. A typical statute allows a person to get title to land from the actual owner simply by using the land, out in the open for all to see. For example, your neighbor built a fence on your land with the intention of taking the property, paid property taxes, and you knew about it but did nothing. If this continued for a period of time set by state law, your neighbor may be able to claim this property as his/her own. The theory is that, by not disputing your neighbor’s use of your property through a lawsuit, you, as the actual owner have abandoned your rights to the property. There are several elements needed for adverse possession to result in title:
The length of time required for adverse possession in title varies - it could be as short as a few years or could run for twenty years or more. Typically public entities must establish a longer period of possession than individuals. Some states have adopted a rule which requires the adverse possessor to pay taxes each year on the land.
The possession must be open for all to see.
The possession must be exclusive to him or her (e.g., the fence in the above example, a driveway, road, etc.)
The possession must be hostile to the actual owner of the land.
To gain title to land through adverse possession requires strict compliance with the law, but can have dramatic impact upon land ownership rights.
An encroachment could result in title to your property being transferred to an adverse possessor. Under these circumstances, you might have to bring a lawsuit for trespass in order to prevent your neighbor from getting title to your land through adverse possession.
If you own land, it is important that you do not "sleep on your rights" since you could lose ownership of the land.
If you want a second home or a vacation getaway, do the same on the attorneys property
Already went to the attorney. He said it is up to the judge, his hands are tied.
If you don't get one. It will cost couple of thousand (depending on how long the property line is).
Then get a better lawyer. One that makes your skin crawl.
Barring everything else you might consider 'taking' some of the neighbors land just as he did to you.
Bottom line is you need a good lawyer.
Since you allowed your parents to endure this for 8yrs, you're right, no one cares.
I would get all records from the attorney on this matter before canning him, every letter to and from authorities. Be nice in requesting these, suck up to him. Get the originals if you can. Don't get mad yet. Get yourself a good lawyer before cutting this other guy loose. I would save originals of all previous requests, or get good copies. Watch where you keep them.
Backup, call it.
Anything beyond that should be taken with a grain of salt.
8 years sounds a bit short for the rules of Adverse Possesion to take effect. I ran a google on Maine Real Estate attorneys and found this. Click your county and get an attorney. One who knows Real Estate law.
http://attorneypages.com/580ME/index.htm
"bar association"....5:30 at local bar?
IF this is in court and before a judge, why are you panicking here? You have to forgive me Mirkweed, but I am about to state the obvious. You are not a guy who appears able to handle a lot of facts and details. You have a lawyer, they explained what is going on to you,and you expect a lawyer on here to help you somehow with almost zero details.
I strongly advise you to calm down and with due respect to all the advice on here, ignore it. Don't shoot anybody, don't put up fences, don't drag any trailers, etc. Talk to YOUR lawyer and if unhappy with them get a new one.
My bottom line: If you couldn't post more than a confusing line or two here, you cannot handle the details and need to rely on your attorney.
Wow ..good thing I read your post..I guess I have wasted $43000 in the last year for nothing. Why, Oh why, didn't I just call a lawyer. Because they can fix everyting. And according to Sean Penn Iraq had rivers of chocolate and the fields were full of flowers. Thanks..oh ..excuse me..a happy lawyer wants $230 for the last e-mail.
You need to provide the circumstances in more detail before any attorney can evaluate the rights and responsibilties of the parties. Also, it has to be a lawyer from maine, since each state's real estate laws are different. Also, any attorney not licensed in the state of Maine should not opine on this issue for you for ethical reasons.
It sounds to me as if that could be your problem.
It isn't a matter of 'caring'. The word 'care' is emotional and completely irrelevant to what matters, namely the LAW.
If you are in a small town area, chances are that you have made the mistake that many in small towns make, i.e. having good ole Joe the 'local attorney' try to handle it, when in fact 'good ole Joe' probably handles everything from divorces to claims for stuff the dry cleaners ruined.
I am not an attorney but I have been down a few legal 'paths' and here is my advice:
1. If you have money, hire a high-powered legal firm in Boston or New York. They will have the resources to research the case and although they probably can't actually practice in your State, they will form an association with a lawyer in your state and he will be the front.
2. If you don't have money, then accept the situation and take a pie or cake to the squatters and settle back and stop fighting.
3. Legal wins can be summed up in one word: Money. If you have it you can win. If you don't then stop aggravating yourself with the 'problem'.
Sorry to be so hard-a***d but that is the reality.
State your problem in English and let us have a go at it.
I'm betting that what your law really says is that if you don't file your lawsuit against him before ten years, then it's his.
8 years seems like a long time to litigate this case. It might be that the lawyer is no good, but it might be that there is something wrong with the case. Maybe the statute of limitations has already passed or something.
Maybe there is a dispute over the legal description, or the validity of a deed. Maybe the lawyer hasn't been paid in a couple of years, and simply is not motivated to push the case. Maybe he thinks that the other side will fold if he waits. There are any number of reasons for this problem, and I don't think anyone can really give you advice on how to deal with it unless they know more about what the problem is.
BTW, I'm a lawyer in Florida.
I can not stand on my own property (the trailer) because it is in court.
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