Woonsocket Boundary Dispute Lawyers and Woonsocket Title Attorneys

Find the right Title & Boundary Dispute attorney in Woonsocket, RI

Title & Boundary Dispute Law in Rhode Island

There are times when neighbors will find themselves in a situation where how they've been using their land doesn't match up with the property boundaries that are on record. This can be a source of substantial conflict, as one might expect.

Ideally, the neighbors could just dismiss the situation, and go on as they had before, effectively agreeing to change the property lines to reflect their past use. This doesn't always happen, however. Additionally, such a course of action is not free of issues, and could eventually result in ownership of the land legally changing to reflect the past use, even if one of the neighbors opposes this.

Nonetheless, it's more common for the neighbor whose land is being encroached upon by the other neighbor to seek enforcement of the legal property lines. The other neighbor will almost certainly want to use the property as he had been, since enforcing the legal property lines would cause him to lose some of "his" land.

People in Woonsocket, Rhode Island should also be aware of the possibility of title (ownership) disputes. Unlike the boundary disputes considered above, the outcome of a title dispute can decide 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 Woonsocket, Rhode Island

One customary resolution for boundary disputes is a court re-drawing the boundaries to fit with what the assumptions that the neighbors were operating under before the error was discovered. This typically happens when both parties were, for many years, aware of the actual property boundaries, and did nothing about it. Moreover, if the neighbor who has been encroaching onto the other neighbor's land has made costly improvements thereto, this weighs in favor of that neighbor, since changing the property lines would impose significant hardship on that neighbor.

Nonetheless, a court might also enforce the legal property boundaries, particularly 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 further weigh heavily in favor of enforcing the legal property lines.

With title disputes (as opposed to the boundary disputes discussed above), a Woonsocket, Rhode Island court has to determine who owns an entire parcel of land. There are some pretty confusing legal issues involved here.

In general, the person who initially recorded the deed at the appropriate government office will be the one who the court deems to own the land, if they didn't have any reason to know about the existence of the other deed, or other sale, or whatever else gave rise to the title conflict.

What Can A Woonsocket, Rhode Island Attorney Do?

The legal problems that can come up in boundary and title disputes can get very complicated. Given this fact, and the high stakes of such disputes, most people shouldn't approach these issues without good legal representation. It should therefore go without saying that the counsel of a reliable Woonsocket, Rhode Island real estate attorney is essential in most of these disputes.

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Life in Woonsocket

Woonsocket is located in Rhode Island's Providence COUNTY. Specifically, it is south of Massachusetts. Perhaps one of the main reasons Woonsocket is well-known is because it is home to the headquarters for CVS, the popular pharmacy and drug store chain.

Popular sites include Allen Street Historic District, Frank Wilbur House, Glenark Mills, Hanora Mills, Jenckes Mansion, Linton Block, Main Street Historic District, Pothier House, St. Andrews Episcopal Chapel, Stadium Building, Woonsocket Civil War Monument, and L'Eglise du Precieux Sang.

Famous residents, past and present, include Greg Abate, Rocco Baldelli, Clem Labine, Ambrose Kennedy, Neil Lanctot, William C. Lovering, Bryan Berard, Brian Boucher, Marcel Desaulniers, and Gabby Hartnett.

Woonsocket also has a strong legal force because many attorneys have established small law offices and firms in the city. These offices and firms provide legal services in all areas, allowing local businesses and residents to stay near in order to seek legal guidance.

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