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Title & Boundary Dispute Law in Mississippi

Sometimes, neighbors will find out that their use of their land (or what they thought was their land) is not reflected in the actual property lines on record. Obviously, this can create a problem.

In a seemingly-ideal situation, the neighbors will choose to ignore this new revelation, and go on as they always have. Of course, this doesn't happen frequently, and might have consequences down the road, including title eventually changing to reflect the perceived property lines, without the choice of either neighbor.

In these cases, what often happens is that the owner of the property which is truly larger than he initially believed (due to the property line not being where he thought it was) wants to make use of the additional property, and eject his neighbor from it. The other neighbor, on the other hand, will want to keep using the land as before, to avoid having his property shrink.

People in Pascagoula, Mississippi should also be aware of the possibility of title (ownership) disputes. Unlike the boundary disputes discussed above, the outcome of a title dispute can determine who owns an entire parcel of real property. Confusion over who actually owns a piece of property is more common that some people might imagine. Many local property records are still kept on paper, are not very well-organized, and sometimes date back a hundred years or more. A lost or misfiled deed is the most common way for a title dispute to arise. However, sometimes fraud on the part of a seller can lead to title disputes. Unscrupulous individuals will sometimes try to sell the same piece of land to more than one person. And some people even try to sell property they don't own, occasionally succeeding (and this isn't just limited to bridges in London). Typically, once the buyers discover they've been duped, the "seller" is nowhere to be found, leaving them to figure out who owns the land they all thought they had purchased.

Possible Outcomes of Boundary and Title Disputes in Pascagoula, Mississippi

One way to resolve boundary disputes is to simply re-draw the property lines to reflect what the neighbors thought they were all along. When this happens, nobody's situation changes, and it's usually considered a neutral result (causing no significant loss or gain to either party). This is often done if both of the neighbors knew about the actual property lines for many years, and didn't do anything about it. A court might also take this course of action if enforcing the property lines would impose a substantial hardship on one of the parties, not outweighed by the overall benefits of doing so.

However, a court might also enforce the legal property boundaries, especially if failing to do so would place a significant burden on the owner of the encroached-upon land. If the owner of the encroaching land knew of the encroachment, and concealed it from his neighbor, this fact would also weigh heavily in favor of enforcing the legal property lines.

When a title dispute comes up in Pascagoula, Mississippi, the court has to apply some pretty complex legal and equitable principles. These rules are sometimes fairly obscure, mainly because they can trace their origins back hundreds of years, to the common-law courts of England. However, a close examination of them reveals their basic goal: deciding ownership disputes based on longstanding conceptions of basic fairness.

Usually, the person who records the deed first will be the one who takes ownership. Of course, this will only be if they had no reason to know about the other deeds).

What Can A Pascagoula, Mississippi Attorney Do?

As you might have gathered, it's not uncommon for the legal issues governing boundary and title disputes to get very complicated. Moreover, any dispute that can affect one's use or ownership of land has very high stakes (land isn't typically cheap, after all). Therefore, it shouldn't come as a surprise that hiring a competent Pascagoula, Mississippi real estate lawyer to help in situations like this is always a good idea.

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Life in Pascagoula

Pascagoula, Mississippi is a city in Jackson County. As of a 2007 estimate by the United States Census Bureau, it has a population of about 24,000 people.

Native American tribes have inhabited Pascagoula for thousands of years, and the name comes from a word that means "bread-eaters" which is how one of the groups of native inhabitants referred to themselves. A Spanish explorer is believed to have made first contact with them in 1540. However, the first permanent European settlement did not come until the 1700s. This area did not become part of the United States until 1812. Before then, it changed handsmultipletimesbetween the French, Spanish, and English. Pascagoula became a city, under the state's legal definition, in 1901. The current downtown area of Pascagoula was once part of Scranton, Mississippi, until the two towns merged in 1912.

Pascagoula, Mississippi is strategically situated on the Gulf of Mexico. Accordingly, its beaches are a popular tourist destination, and its fisheries are an important part of its economy.

If you live in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and have any sort of legal problem, you can probably find someone to help you with it. Pascagoula, Mississippi lawyers can handle just about any case that they might be faced with.

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Pascagoula Boundary Dispute Lawyers and Pascagoula Title Attorneys

Title & Boundary Dispute Law in Mississippi

Possible Outcomes of Boundary and Title Disputes in Pascagoula, Mississippi