Columbia Boundary Dispute Lawyers and Columbia Title Attorneys

Find the right Title & Boundary Dispute attorney in Columbia, TN

Title & Boundary Dispute Law in Tennessee

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 substantial conflict, as one might expect.

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.

Typically, 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.

In Columbia, Tennessee, property can also be the subject of title disputes, rather than boundary disputes described above. These types of disputes stem from disagreements over who owns a piece of property. Confusion in this area is more prevalent than one might think. If a deed is improperly recorded, land can be "owned" by 2 people simultaneously. Even more troublesome is when land is "sold" to more than one person. This is typically inadvertent, but some people do it deliberately, hoping to abscond the profits gained by selling the same thing twice. In cases like this, a court has to determine which buyer owns the land. This is a big deal, considering how unlikely it is that a defrauded buyer could get his or her money back.

Possible Outcomes of Boundary and Title Disputes in Columbia, Tennessee

Courts have many tools at their disposal to resolve boundary disputes. One way is to simply re-draw the property lines to reflect how the neighbors had been using the land before the discrepancy was discovered. This doesn't very change the position of either neighbor, and is sometimes the fairest result. This is most frequently done because the neighbors were both aware of the legal property lines, and that they differed from how they were using the land, and went on using the land anyway.

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."

With title disputes, a court has to decide who owns a particular piece of land. There are many factors that a court will consider, and this decision is governed by some fairly intricate laws in Columbia, Tennessee.

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 conflict.

What Can A Columbia, Tennessee Attorney Do?

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

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Life in Columbia

Columbia, Tennessee is home to just under 40,000 residents, and located just 45 miles south of the state's capital Nashville. Columbia was also the birthplace of the nation's 11th president, James K. Polk and boasts a variety of athletic, cultural, and other activities for its residents and visitors to enjoy on their visit to Columbia. There are also lots of historical plantation homes in the city of Columbia that draw many visitors.

Columbia, Tennessee is located in Maury County, abutting the beautiful Duck River. Columbia is famous for Mule Day-- a week long celebration every April dedicated to all things Mule which the city of Columbia attributes to having a very formative role in the colonization of the city. Every year, Mule day attracts over 1,000 spectators from all over the United States.

Not just known for mules, Columbia, Tennessee also has quality legal services to offer with great lawyers eager to serve their clients. The nearest law school to Columbia is Vanderbilt, located in Nashville. There are many other local law schools, producing quality lawyers every year. Columbia is home to many talented lawyers that specialize in a range of legal practices. Columbia lawyers are available to help with any legal problem you may encounter!

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