Terre Haute Boundary Dispute Lawyers and Terre Haute Title Attorneys

Find the right Title & Boundary Dispute attorney in Terre Haute, IN

Title & Boundary Dispute Law in Indiana

If you discover that you and your neighbor's use of your respective properties do not reflect the legal property lines, 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 often, and might have consequences down the road, including title eventually changing to reflect the perceived property lines, without the choice of either neighbor.

It's more often the case that one neighbor wants to maintain the current use of the land, property lines notwithstanding, while the other neighbor wants to enforce the property lines that are on record. This is because moving a property line necessarily expands the land of one neighbor, while shrinking the land of another. Obviously, the neighbor whose land would be shrunk will probably oppose any attempt to enforce the property lines.

People in Terre Haute, Indiana 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). Usually, 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 Terre Haute, Indiana

One possible outcome of a boundary dispute is a court effectively re-drawing the boundaries to fit what the neighbors had perceived. This is most often 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.

Of course, there are plenty of reasons why a court might decide to enforce the property lines as the records indicate. If one neighbor knew about the discrepancy, and hid it from the other neighbor (presumably because the neighbor with the knowledge of the discrepancy benefited from it), a court will, of course, not reward this kind of dishonesty, and will decide against that neighbor. On the other hand, if the neighbor whose land would be expanded by enforcing the "real" property boundaries knew this fact, and took no action for many years, a court will probably not be receptive if he or she suddenly tries to enforce them. This is referred to as "sitting on one's rights," and courts will not reward this, either. If you have a legal right, you're expected to make efforts to vindicate it as soon as possible. If you don't, a court will essentially say "I guess it wasn't that important to you if you waited 10 years to bring this to our attention. Next case."

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

In general, the person who first 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 dispute.

What Can A Terre Haute, Indiana Attorney Do?

Because of the high stakes, going it alone in a boundary or title dispute is rarely prudent. Therefore, it's almost always a good idea to get a good Terre Haute, Indiana real estate attorney to help you with such legal problems.

Talk to a Real Estate Law Attorney now!

Life in Terre Haute

Terre Haute is a city located in Vigo County, Indiana. It is located near Indiana's western border with Illinois. The city is home to around 60,800 people.

An interesting fact is that the original curved Coca-Cola bottle was designed and first produced by the Root Glass Company, based in Terre Haute!

Many small businesses call Terre Haute home. In fact, the city has many smaller business districts. To support these businesses are the many attorneys that live in Terre Haute.

Some popular sites include the Swope Art Museum, the Art Gallery at Indiana State University, the CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center, and Twelve Points.

All in all, Terre Haute provides residents with an unified community and a wonderful place to live in.

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