Fullerton Boundary Dispute Lawyers and Fullerton Title Attorneys

Find the right Title & Boundary Dispute attorney in Fullerton, CA

Title & Boundary Dispute Law in California

Finding out that property lines are improperly drawn and learning that you have been partially occupying your neighbor's land, or vice versa, can cause some very serious legal issues.

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.

Consequently, neighbors more frequently end up in some type of legal dispute over whether and to what extent the property lines should be enforced. Obviously, when the property lines are changed, one neighbor wins, and the other loses. It should come as no surprise, then, that legal fights are often the result.

In addition to the boundary disputes mentioned above, land owners and buyers in Fullerton, California should also be aware of the possibility of a title dispute. Rather than being a disagreement over the exact boundaries between two pieces of land, a title dispute is a conflict over who actually owns an entire plot of land. Uncertainty over ownership of land can come up more often than you might think, and is most often caused by a buyer's failure to correctly record a deed, or the accidental loss or destruction of a deed. Sometimes, however, these disputes can be more dishonest in origin: on occasion, unscrupulous sellers of land will attempt to sell the same parcel to more than one person. Obviously, once you've sold land to one person, you can't sell the same land to anyone else, as you no longer own it. These tricksters know this, but are attempting to gain a large amount of money through the multiple sales. Once this is done, they typically attempt to flee the state or country before the buyers discovery they've been duped. This leaves it up to the buyers to figure out amongst themselves who owns the land.

Possible Outcomes of Boundary and Title Disputes in Fullerton, California

One possible result of a boundary dispute is a court effectively re-drawing the boundaries to fit what the neighbors had perceived. This is most frequently done if the neighbors were aware for a long time of the "real" property lines, and didn't do anything about it. It also helps if the neighbor who is encroaching makes major improvements to the land, and enforcing the new property lines would place a major burden on him.

On the other hand, a court could determine to take the opposite approach, and order the neighbors to abide by the legal property lines. When deciding which course of action to take, courts consider many factors, but majority of them boil down to common-sense principles of fairness. For instance, if the owner of the land who was encroaching onto his neighbor's land knew of the encroachment, and hid this fact from the other neighbor (hoping to continue to use more land than he paid for), that will weigh heavily in favor of enforcing the legal property lines. On the other hand, if neither neighbor knew about the error, and it turns out that the actual property line goes through somebody's living room, a court likely won't enforce them.

In Fullerton, California courts have many options when it comes to resolving title disputes. However, these disputes are usually controlled by some fairly complicated (and old) legal principles. While they're usually built around policies that most people would find to be quite fair and reasonable, their application can be nearly impenetrable, even for some lawyers.

Without going into too much detail, the individual who recorded their deed initially will be the one who takes ownership, provided he or she did not know (or had no reason to know) of the existence of the other deed.

What Can A Fullerton, California Attorney Do?

The legal issues surrounding title and boundary disagreements can get pretty confusing, and there are typically very high stakes involved (most people think their land is pretty important). For that reason, a good Fullerton, California real estate attorney will prove invaluable if such a dispute arises.

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Life in Fullerton

Fullerton is located in the northern parts of Orange County, California. The city is named after George H. Fullerton, who originally secured the plot of land where the city is now situated. Fullerton, California is home to several employers and educational institutions such as California State University, Fullerton (CSUF).

Downtown Fullerton is a veritable cornucopia of entertainment with its mix of cantina-style eateries, local pubs, and jazz bars. The city of Fullerton, California is associated with the alternative rock music scene, as it is considered a cultural hub for that particular genre of music. Gwen Stefani, lead singer of the music group "No Doubt", attended CSUF, and the band has performed many shows in Fullerton.

Adding to the culture's rich cultural make-up is its equally impressive role in the history of music. Leo Fender, founder of Fender Musical Instrument Company, was born and raised in the city. He started his company in Fullerton, and the Fender factory produced some of the world's most innovative electric guitars.

Fullerton thus became known as a trend-setter in the music and entertainment scene. With its bustling night life and close proximity to Los Angeles, Fullerton is a major contributor to the economic and cultural vitality of California.

Lawyers in Fullerton, California contribute to the city's progress by providing a number of valuable legal services for residents. Fullerton lawyers typically process legal claims at the Superior Court of California, Orange County.

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