Bellevue Boundary Dispute Lawyers and Bellevue Title Attorneys

Find the right Title & Boundary Dispute attorney in Bellevue, NE

Title & Boundary Dispute Law in Nebraska

Occasionally, 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.

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. Furthermore, 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.

Normally, when this happens, the owner of the property which is being encroached upon wants to expand their property to reflect the legal boundaries, and the owner of the land that will be shrunk by recognizing the legal property lines will want to keep the situation as it is.

People in Bellevue, Nebraska 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). Normally, 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 Bellevue, Nebraska

One frequent 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 normally happens when both parties were, for many years, aware of the actual property boundaries, and did nothing about it. Additionally, 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.

Of course, there are plethora of reasons why a court might determine 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 basically 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 Bellevue, Nebraska court has to determine who owns an entire parcel of land. There are some pretty complex legal issues involved here.

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 Bellevue, Nebraska Attorney Do?

Real property disputes frequently 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 Bellevue, Nebraska real estate attorney, who will assist you navigate these murky legal waters.

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Life in Bellevue

Bellevue is the oldest city in the state of Nebraska. It was incorporated in 1855 and currently has a population of approximately 49,000 people. The city is part of Sarpy County. The word "Bellevue" is French for "beautiful view", as the city is rich in pristine forest areas. For example, Fontenelle Forest is located in Bellevue. It is a privately owned forest area containing 17 miles of trails suitable for hiking. The area has many views of the surrounding scenery including the Missouri River. Another popular tourist location is Hayworth Park, which has a walking trail that crosses many miles of Bellevue. The economy of Bellevue is currently fueled by expansions in the civilian sector. The commercial, residential, industrial, and construction industries are growing rapidly in the city of Bellevue. Offutt Air Force Base is also located near Bellevue. The base is headquarters for the Air Force Weather Agency, the 55th Air Combat Command Wing, and the U.S. Strategic Command (U.S. "Stratcom") Lawyers in Bellevue usually handle a variety of civil and criminal cases, as well as issues in family, real estate, and financial matters. Bellevue, Nebraska lawyers usually litigate their clients' cases at the Sarpy County Courthouse. More advanced cases are heard at the Sarpy County District Court.

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