Stratford Boundary Dispute Lawyers and Stratford Title Attorneys

Find the right Title & Boundary Dispute attorney in Stratford, CT

Title & Boundary Dispute Law in Connecticut

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

Sometimes, neighbors will decide amongst themselves that the issue isn't worth fighting over, and will go on as they did before. This is particularly likely if the neighbors are on good terms, and the difference between their use of the land, and the actual property lines, is small (say, a few feet or less). This is an ideal situation, at least in the short term. It can, however, cause problems in the future - preventing a neighbor from enforcing the actual property lines, if they suddenly have a reason to do so.

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.

Title disputes in Stratford, Connecticut, on the other hand, involve questions of ownership over an entire parcel of land. This confusion can sometimes arise from improperly recorded deeds, resulting in inadvertent (and, occasionally, deliberate) sales of the same parcel of land to multiple people. Obviously, each buyer wants to be the one who takes title, especially if it seems unlikely that they'll be able to get their money back. This can lead to some very heated disputes.

Possible Outcomes of Boundary and Title Disputes in Stratford, Connecticut

There are many ways to resolve boundary disputes. One way is to change the legal property lines to reflect the use that the neighbors had been making of the land before the discrepancy was discovered. This is usually considered a sort of "neutral" result - nobody's situation changes. If both neighbors knew about the real boundaries for a very long time, and did nothing about it, a court may view this as them having acquiesced to the status quo, and decide that it would be unfair to force the neighbors to change their use of the land after such a long period of time. This might also be done if enforcing the property lines would place a very large burden on one neighbor, and re-drawing them to reflect their actual use would put a comparatively small burden on the other neighbor

A court might do the opposite, and decide to enforce the property lines as they're drawn. This will always benefit one neighbor and hurt the other. A court will probably do this if one neighbor knew that his land was encroaching onto another person's property, and actively tried to hide that fact from his neighbor. Obviously, such bad behavior shouldn't be rewarded. Conversely, if the neighbor whose land was being encroached upon knew about the discrepancy, and did nothing about it, the court will probably change the property lines to reflect this prior use, to prevent that neighbor from being rewarded for "sitting on his rights."

In Stratford, Connecticut courts have many options when it comes to resolving title disputes. However, these disputes are usually governed by some fairly confusing (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 delving into the details too much, courts typically resolve title disputes by looking at who recorded the deed first, and whether or not that person had notice of any prior sales of the same land. To succeed in a dispute like this, a buyer will usually need to prove that they were the first to record their deed, and that they had no notice (or reason to know) of any prior conveyances of the same land.

What Can A Stratford, Connecticut Attorney Do?

Real property disputes often involve very old legal principles that can even confound lawyers who aren't experts in real estate law. For that reason, you should almost always hire an expert Stratford, Connecticut real estate attorney, who will help you navigate these murky legal waters.

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Life in Stratford

With a population of about 50,000 people, Stratford is a relatively large town located in Fairfield County, Connecticut. It is also one of the oldest American cities, as it was founded all the way back in the year 1639. The town initially began as an utopian-style Puritan community. Eventually it changed to a more traditional colonial-style settlement. Today it continues to thrive as an excellent place for residence and business.

Stratford is probably best known for its historical heritage in military operations, in particular military aviation. One of the world's first commercial helicopters was developed in the city. Further, both Stratford Army Engine Plant and Silkorsky Aircraft are headquartered in Stratford. Residents and tourists take regular visits to the city's National Helicopter Museum.

Another defining mark of the city of Stratford is its presence in the theater and production industry. For many years Stratford's American Shakespeare Theatre was home to many Shakespearean productions and actor's performances. The theatre hosted such outstanding actors as Katharine Hepburn and Paul Newman.

Stratford lawyers assist their clients by filing at the Connecticut Superior Court located in Bridgepoint near Stratford. More advanced claims are heard at the Connecticut Appellate Court or Supreme Court, both located nearby in Hartford. Lawyers in Stratford, Connecticut typically hear a diverse array of legal claims.

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