I am not trying to bludgeon the proverbial deceased equine with this post. Art suggested that I open up a new thread to discuss a point that was mentioned but not really discussed.
It isn't gun-related, but I do feel that a discussion/awareness of this would benefit our community.
On this thread:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=265596
there was a good bit of discussion regarding squatters on your property. The responses were varied, but some pushed the limits and the OP resolved his problem resulting in a thread closure. On that thread, I tried to point out the legal/liability ramifications of unauthorized persons on property.
There were a few brief mentions on the thread of "Squatter's Rights" but no real follow-up. I wanted to post this on the original thread to perhaps bring a discussion of that concept/provision.
I found this link while looking up Squatter's Rights:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverse_possession
In short:
From what my searches indicate, Adverse Possession is a much larger issue in the UK than it is in the USA. However, I did find a number of legal cases and reference to state statutes regarding Adverse Possession. The issue seems to have no clear-cut answer-- I had to search over 20 pages of Google to get an idea of this issue. As I said, there are a number of cases regarding Adverse Possession, but trying to dig through them is like reading the phone book. If this issue may affect you, I would highly encourage you to check with a lawyer in your state to determine the statues regarding this in your state.
By brief search shows that timeframes for adverse possession in the USA can range from 7 years to 20 years across states.
My point to this post was simply to bring awareness to this concept as a service to THR's community. Feel free to discuss, but let's stay on the high road.
John
It isn't gun-related, but I do feel that a discussion/awareness of this would benefit our community.
On this thread:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=265596
there was a good bit of discussion regarding squatters on your property. The responses were varied, but some pushed the limits and the OP resolved his problem resulting in a thread closure. On that thread, I tried to point out the legal/liability ramifications of unauthorized persons on property.
There were a few brief mentions on the thread of "Squatter's Rights" but no real follow-up. I wanted to post this on the original thread to perhaps bring a discussion of that concept/provision.
I found this link while looking up Squatter's Rights:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverse_possession
In short:
In common law, adverse possession is the name given to the process by which title to another's real property is acquired without compensation, by, as the name suggests, holding the property in a manner that conflicts with the true owner's rights for a specified period of time.
In simple terms, this means that those attempting to claim the property are occupying it exclusively (keeping out others) and openly as if it were their own. Some jurisdictions permit accidental adverse possession as might occur with a surveying error. Generally, the openly hostile possession must be continuous (although not necessarily constant) without challenge or permission from the lawful owner, for a fixed statutory period in order to acquire title. Where the property is of a type ordinarily only occupied during certain times (such as a summer cottage), the adverse possessor may only need to have exclusive, open, hostile possession during those successive useful periods, for the required number of years.
From what my searches indicate, Adverse Possession is a much larger issue in the UK than it is in the USA. However, I did find a number of legal cases and reference to state statutes regarding Adverse Possession. The issue seems to have no clear-cut answer-- I had to search over 20 pages of Google to get an idea of this issue. As I said, there are a number of cases regarding Adverse Possession, but trying to dig through them is like reading the phone book. If this issue may affect you, I would highly encourage you to check with a lawyer in your state to determine the statues regarding this in your state.
By brief search shows that timeframes for adverse possession in the USA can range from 7 years to 20 years across states.
My point to this post was simply to bring awareness to this concept as a service to THR's community. Feel free to discuss, but let's stay on the high road.
John