Stevens Point Boundary Dispute Lawyers and Stevens Point Title Attorneys

Find the right Title & Boundary Dispute attorney in Stevens Point, WI

Title & Boundary Dispute Law in Wisconsin

Occasionally, neighbors will discover that the way they've been using their land doesn't conform with the property lines that the local government has on record. When they find out, the situation has to be resolved somehow. In such cases, there is usually a winner and a loser, so conflict is likely to arise.

Ideally, the neighbors could just ignore 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. Also, 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.

Usually, 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.

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

There are many ways to resolve boundary disputes. One way is to change the legal property lines to reflect the use that the neighbors had been making of the land before the discrepancy was discovered. This is generally considered a sort of "neutral" result - nobody's situation changes. If both neighbors knew about the real boundaries for a very long time, and did nothing about it, a court may view this as them having acquiesced to the status quo, and decide that it would be unfair to force the neighbors to change their use of the land after such a long period of time. This might also be done if enforcing the property lines would place a very large burden on one neighbor, and re-drawing them to reflect their actual use would put a comparatively small burden on the other neighbor

However, a court might also enforce the legal property boundaries, especially 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 also weigh heavily in favor of enforcing the legal property lines.

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

Generally, the person who records the deed first will be the one who takes ownership. Of course, this will only be if they had no reason to know about the other deeds).

What Can A Stevens Point, Wisconsin Attorney Do?

The legal problems that can come up in boundary and title disputes can get very complex. Given this fact, and the high stakes of such disputes, most people shouldn't approach these problems without good legal representation. It should therefore go without saying that the counsel of a qualified Stevens Point, Wisconsin real estate attorney is essential in most of these disputes.

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Life in Stevens Point

Stevens Point is the largest city in the county of Portage County, Wisconsin. As the county seat, it has a population of about 25,000 and was incorporated in 1858. The city was named after its founder, George Stevens. Stevens was a supply trade businessman whose store served the numerous loggers in the area.

Geographically, Stevens Point is located in the center of Wisconsin. This makes it an ideal city for both business and residential endeavors. Several large corporations have their headquarters in the city, including the Donaldson Company, Associated Bank, and AIG Travel Guard. Also, the University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point, and Mid-State Technical College are located in the city.

Residents of Stevens Point typically enjoy a wide mix of activities, with a multitude of city services being offered in sports and the arts. Retail and entertainment also form a large part of the city's economy. Festivities include the Portage County Cultural Festival and a Fourth of July Riverfront Rendezvous. A little bit of trivia: the world's largest trivia contest is held every April in Stevens Point, and lasts over 50 hours straight.

Lawyers in Stevens Point, Wisconsin usually file their claims with one of the Wisconsin Municipal Courts, or at the Portage County Circuit Court. Regardless of the type of legal issues, Stevens Point lawyers offer services to address your specific concerns.

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