Edmond Boundary Dispute Lawyers and Edmond Title Attorneys

Find the right Title & Boundary Dispute attorney in Edmond, OK

Title & Boundary Dispute Law in Oklahoma

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.

In these instances, neighbors usually have the option to resolve the dispute by themselves. If the neighbors are on amicable terms with each other, and the dispute is minor (for example, it only includes a difference of a couple feet), and enforcing the property lines would be a major inconvenience for one or both of the neighbors, they'll probably decide to just go on as they had before. This is a viable option, to be sure, but it's not a perfect one: if, sometime down the road, one of the neighbors wants to attempt to enforce the legal boundaries, they might find themselves unable to do so.

It's more frequently 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 likely oppose any attempt to enforce the property lines.

While the boundary disputes discussed above occur fairly regularly, they aren't the only type of land dispute that can happen in Edmond, Oklahoma. There are also title disputes. These disagreements arise when it isn't clear who owns an entire parcel of land. There are many reasons why such confusion might arise, but a common one is failure to properly record a deed, or subsequent loss of a deed by the recording office. While typically innocent in origin, these disputes can also be the product of fraud. Sometimes, a landowner will sell his land to more than one person, with each buyer assuming that they are the only buyer. Having "sold" his land multiple times, the fraudster presumably flees the jurisdiction with his ill-gotten gains. This leaves the buyers to figure out who truly owns the land that each of them thought they had just bought. Obviously, whoever loses this dispute will typically have to absorb the loss of the land's purchase price, if the fraudulent seller cannot be found.

Possible Outcomes of Boundary and Title Disputes in Edmond, Oklahoma

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.

In Edmond, Oklahoma 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 delving into the specifics 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 Edmond, Oklahoma 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 Edmond, Oklahoma real estate attorney, who will assist you navigate these murky legal waters.

Talk to a Real Estate Law Attorney now!

Life in Edmond

Edmond is located in Oklahoma County, with a population of around 81,400 people. In 2011, CNBC included Edmond on its "10 Perfect Suburbs" list. In 2007, it was also ranked amongst the "Top 100 Places to Live" by Relocated America.

Top employers include the school district, the City of Edmond, Pelco Products, Innovative Healthcare Systems, Remy International, Petra Industries, OU Medical Center, Adfitech, and the University of Central Oklahoma. The legal industry also has a strong presence in Edmond because many resident attorneys practice law in various areas. Therefore, residents and local businesses have no problems when needing legal guidance.

For all the nature-lovers, Edmond is home to some wonderful parks to visit. These parks include Brookhaven Park, Centennial Park, Chitwood Park, Dog Park, Fink Park, Gossett Park, Kelly Park, Ted Anderson Park, and Whispering Heights Park.

Some famous residents include Jim Beaver, Bob Ricks, Reggie Smith, Gil Morgan, Shannon Miller, Blake Griffin, Greyson Chance and Ekpe Udoh.

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