When your neighbor encroaches on your property, even with a fence, contact Gordon Law Group Heber City serving Heber Valley Utah. The law considers neighbor encroachment trespassing. By quickly addressing the problem, you can keep it from growing worse, such as your neighbor earning the right to that land.
At Gordon Law Group, our attorneys want you to understand your property rights, so you don’t lose even an inch of your lot. Because Utah adheres to the legal doctrine of boundary by acquiescence. You won’t spot a law in the Utah state legal code. The doctrine developed in Utah appellate courts and our Heber Valley Property Dispute Attorney staff works with these property laws every day.
Common Utah Property Line Disputes
In Utah, landscaping offers a common way to enhance the desert landscape of your plot of land. The trees planted along the property lines though can result in disputes that require a Heber Valley Real Estate Attorney to resolve. These disputes can arise whether the leaves constantly blow over onto your neighbor’s yard or you trimmed branches hanging on your side of the property line and killed the tree in the process.
Utah’s Boundary Lines Overview
The state of Utah features many laws that set the boundaries of boundaries. These include the following:
- Utah Code § 6-4031 Contribution for Qualified Fence,
- Utah Code § 4-26-102 Partition Fence,
- Utah Code § 78B-6-1001 Injuries to Trees.
This diversity of laws requires a trained property attorney Utah can trust to help alleviate the problem. Each of our lawyers can serve as your Heber Valley Property Fence Line Disputes Attorney since each specializes in real estate and personal injury property line disputes.
Fence Law Basics in Utah
Although it results in less litigation and increases stability, it recognizes “long-standing markers” to indicate property lines even if the marked areas differ from the land survey. Essentially, if you don’t legally fight the misplaced fence, over time you’ll give that land to your neighbor. The meaning of acquiescence in the law and in general terms remains the same – reluctantly accepting something without protesting it.
Your neighbor would need to show four things for the boundary by acquiescence to apply. During court or in a mediation session, they would need to prove the four following facts:
- Their occupation/use of the land up to a visible marker, such as a fence, monument, or building,
- The neighbor acquiescing that the marker adequately represents the property boundary line they assert,
- The property line must have existed for more than 20 years (the fence, rocks, etc.),
- The land owners’ land must adjoin.
If any one of these four pieces of the test fails, then the neighbor encroaching cannot assert the boundary of acquiescence rule. When the other party does meet the four criteria, then our Heber lawyers can help you amend the land deed or litigate the matter. As your Heber Valley Property Attorney, we can help you defend your land or help you bring forth a legal matter to show your right to land.
How an Attorney Can Help
Contact Gordon Law Firm, your trusted source for a Heber Valley Property Line Dispute Attorney. We can help you mount a case against your neighbor’s encroachment. The first method prescribed includes mediation using an Ombudsman. If this fails, your case moves to court. Typically, something as simple as a tree dispute you can settle out of court. If the property line has been miscalculated vastly then you may need to address the matter in court, especially if the neighbor constructed a building or swimming pool, or other immovable structure on the property.