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I recently was deeded 4.29 acres of wooded country property from my aging mother-in-law. She and her deseased husband never did anything with the property and have owned it for thirty years or so. I had it surveyed and found that an occupied house, garage, fence and above ground pool are on my property. I contacted the homeowner and offer to sell him the property. He offered $1500.00 pedr acre. A logging company offered $3000.00 per acre of the timber. A local realtor said the property could be worth $5000.00 per acre as a building site. The house has been ther for over twenty years, perhaps the garage too. I am willing to give him the house and garage, but how much land aroung the house am I required to give him if we end up in an Adverse Possession law suit?

Submitted: 711 days and 8 hours ago.

Category: Legal

Value: $30

Status: AWAITING CUSTOMER ACTION

Optional Information:
Charleston, Illinois

Already Tried:
Talked with my lawyer and he said I sould work out an agreement with the homeowner as to how much ground I should give him with the house. I want to know my legal rights before I talk to him.

Accepted Answer

Here is the IL adverse possession statute: http://www.kentlaw.edu/perritt/courses/property/il-adverse-possession-statute.htm

Unfortunately, there is no "blanket" answer to your question. The homeowners appear to have complied with IL adverse possession law; (however, an IL real estate lawyer should examine the facts before reaching that conclusion), but it is not clear that they have "possessed any more land than that on which their house, garage, and pool sit.

The court ultimately will decide ownership of the property if there is no agreement. Your options: 1) Negotiate with the homeowner; 2) Litigate the case against the homeowner and get a judicial determination as to who owns what part of the parcel. A third option would be to agree to have an independent person serve as arbitrator and try to reach an agreement that way or in mediation.

I am sorry that I cannot give you a specific answer as to ownership, but in adverse possession cases the definition of "possession" is determined by the judge or jury on a case-by-case basis; thus, there are no rules that provide guidance in all cases.

I hope that I have helped, answered all of your questions, and that I have provided you with useful information. Please contact me if I have not answered all of your questions. If my answer is satisfactory please accept it. I really appreciate positive feedback.

In the future, you can specifically request that I work with you on your legal question. If you have specifically requested that I answer this question, thank you.

Please be aware that my answer is not legal advice, it is merely information. You and I have not entered into an attorney/client relationship. The only way that I am legally responsible for your legal rights is if you have signed a written retainer agreement with my law firm.

Accepts:
Expert:	J D Haas
Pos. Feedback:	99.0 %
Answered:	12/12/2007

Lawyer (JD)

21 years as a serious injury/wrongful death trial lawyer; nationally board certified; 43 jury trials

710 days and 15 hours ago.

Reply

I still do not know what to offer him in terms of property. Surly he is not intitled to all of the 4.29 acres. I would rather not litigate, I would preferr to negotiate, but I need to have some milk to offer and not the whole darn cow. Thanks.

Posted by J D Haas 710 days and 15 hours ago.

Answer

I understand completely. Here are some options: a) take a walk around this person's property. Is this person "possessing" 1/2 an acre, 1 acre, etc.? b) after you have calculated the land that this person is "possessing" then figure out what is the balance that is not effected by adverse possession--do you have 3 acres left? 4 acres? c) after you have an understanding as to your ownership that has not been transferred by adverse possession, then you can calculate a purchase price. The land is worth $3000.00 per acre for timber, $5000.00 for a home site; therefore, is your land worth $9000-$15000.00?

Another option would be to hire a surveyor to calculate exactly the amount of land that this person has via adverse possession. The balance would be your land. After receiving that information, then you can calculate value based upon the timber and homesite value x the amount of land that you own after calculating adverse possession.

If you have other questions, please let me know.

I hope that I have helped, answered all of your questions, and that I have provided you with useful information. Please contact me if I have not answered all of your questions. If my answer is satisfactory please accept it. I really appreciate positive feedback.

In the future, you can specifically request that I work with you on your legal question. If you have specifically requested that I answer this question, thank you.

Please be aware that my answer is not legal advice, it is merely information. You and I have not entered into an attorney/client relationship. The only way that I am legally responsible for your legal rights is if you have signed a written retainer agreement with my law firm.

710 days and 14 hours ago.

Reply

You have done a fine job answering my complicated question and I do not blame you for the vagueness. It appears that Adverse Possession advances the trespasser and robs the landowner. Can I have him evicted? Is he the one who must claim the property in the courts? Must he be the one to initiate Adverse Poseesion? Thanks

710 days and 14 hours ago.

Reply

You have done a fine job answering my complicated question and I do not blame you for the vagueness. It appears that Adverse Possession advances the trespasser and robs the landowner. Can I have him evicted? Is he the one who must claim the property in the courts? Must he be the one to initiate Adverse Possesion? Thanks

Posted by J D Haas 710 days and 14 hours ago.

Info Request

Adverse possession is sometimes known as "squatters rights". The idea for adverse possession comes from England hundreds of years ago and that idea is that a person who is going to farm or cultivate land or improve land should get title to land that he/she does not own because he or she is making it more valuable.

To the existing landowner, it is theft.

I suggested that you consult with an IL property lawyer because adverse possession is tricky, and if they have not done everything necessary they do not own the land, you do. They would have improved the land for your benefit.

I believe you need to initiate the process if you attempt to evict them and take possession of all of your land. The first step would be to contact a lawyer, and probably a surveyor and determine the adverse possession issue before attempting to negotiate for, if the adverse possession issue is in your favor, you have gained thousands of dollars in property and buildings. Good luck.

I hope that I have helped you and that I have answered all of your questions. Please contact me if I have not answered all of your questions. If my answer is satisfactory please accept it. I really appreciate positive feedback.

In the future, you can specifically request that I work with you on your legal question. If you have specifically requested that I answer this question, thank you.

Please be aware that my answer is not legal advice, it is merely information. You and I have not entered into an attorney/client relationship. The only way that I am legally responsible for your legal rights is if you have signed a written retainer agreement with my law firm.

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Optional Information: Charleston, IllinoisAlready Tried: Talked with my lawyer and he said I sould work out an agreement with the homeowner as to how much ground I should give him with the house. I want to know my legal rights before I talk to him.

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I still do not know what to offer him in terms of property. Surly he is not intitled to all of the 4.29 acres. I would rather not litigate, I would preferr to negotiate, but I need to have some milk to offer and not the whole darn cow. Thanks.

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Charleston, Illinois

Already Tried:
Talked with my lawyer and he said I sould work out an agreement with the homeowner as to how much ground I should give him with the house. I want to know my legal rights before I talk to him.