Lawton Title Lawyers | Title Attorneys in OK

Title & Boundary Dispute Law in Oklahoma

There are times when neighbors will find themselves in a situation where how they've been using their land doesn't match up with the property boundaries that are on record. This can be a source of considerable conflict, as one might expect.

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 commonly, and might have consequences down the road, including title eventually changing to reflect the perceived property lines, without the choice of either neighbor.

In these cases, what often happens is that the owner of the property which is really larger than he initially believed (due to the property line not being where he thought it was) wants to make use of the further property, and eject his neighbor from it. The other neighbor, on the other hand, will want to keep using the land as before, to avoid having his property shrink.

While the boundary disputes discussed above occur fairly regularly, they aren't the only type of land dispute that can happen in Lawton, 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 normally 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 really owns the land that each of them thought they had just bought. Obviously, whoever loses this dispute will normally 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 Lawton, Oklahoma

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 commonly 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.

A court, for many possible reasons, might decide to give effect to the legally-recorded property lines, which would generally change the neighbors' situation, with respect to how they use their land. For instance, if the neighbor who is benefiting from the prevailing situation (he is using land beyond the actual boundary of his property, thereby encroaching onto the land of another) knew about the discrepancy and took steps to actively hide this fact from the other neighbor, the court is very unlikely to do anything that rewards this behavior, even in the slightest. Therefore, a court is likely to decide against the dishonest neighbor. Conversely, if the neighbor who would benefit from enforcing the property lines did nothing to make this happen for many years, a court will probably tell them that they had their chance, and essentially consented to the current arrangement when they took no action to correct it.

In the case of disputes over title, courts have to figure out who owns a specific piece of real property. Courts will consider many factors, and there are some perplexing and (in some cases) antiquated legal issues that guide Lawton, Oklahoma courts on these matters.

Without delving into the specifics too much, courts normally 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 win in a dispute like this, a buyer will typically 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 Lawton, Oklahoma Attorney Do?

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

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Life in Lawton

Lawton is located in Comanche County, Oklahoma. It has a population of 96,867 per the 2010 census. It was built on land that belong to the Kiowa Comanche and Apache Native Americans.

Popular sites include Lake Lawtonka, Lake Ellsworth, Elmer Thomas Lake, the Witchita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, The Museume of the Great Plains, and the Fort Sill Museum. As you can tell, Lawton is a great place for nature-lovers to visit.

Top employers include Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Cameron University, Assurant Solutions, Lawton-Fort Sill Regional Airport, and the school district. The legal force also has a presence via many firms and law offices that train excellent attorneys to handle any and every legal matter.

Famous residents include Bryan White, Kelly Willis, Leon Russell, Conrad Herwig, Charles Chibitty, Joan Crawford, Robert S. Johnson, and Will Shields.

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Lawton Boundary Dispute Lawyers and Lawton Title Attorneys

Title & Boundary Dispute Law in Oklahoma

Possible Outcomes of Boundary and Title Disputes in Lawton, Oklahoma