l live in an agricultural area, l have an acre of land. An elderly neighbor is selling his home and a survey of his land showed that it extended about 15 ft. into the neighbors. The new purchasers are going to fight for the land. This survey backed into my property making up the difference of 15 ft. on my land. l have lived here 25 years. There was a fence dividing the land when we purchased. The owner of my abutter had his land surveyed when he purchased 20 years ago and the fence line was accurate. There was an existing barn on my property within that 15 ft questioned area. l have since rebuilt the barn, about 22 years ago and have housed a pony in it ever since. Can someone just take the land l have used for 25 years because this new surveyor says the property line needs adjusting?.

Get a lawyer.

NOPE, but prepare for a legal fight. Maybe the new surveyor is wrong, so first thing is to get new survey of ur property. Secondly dig out all ur old papers & title commitment. Your title insurance should defend u in this action.

Another thing is adverse possession, & after 20 years of open, notorious, with claim of right, possession, u could take ownership of the land even if it was not yours before.

So, get going with title company & probably need an attorney of ur own. Do not delay.

The states laws vary greatly on this subject. In general, if u use someones property ''openly & notoriously'' for a period of years, ( 7 in my state) then u can continue to use it. This is called the law of Adverse Possession.

Open & notoriously means the owner was not absent & did nothing to correct the problem. In other words u can not sneak onto a large ranch & live for 7 yrs then claim part of the ranch as yours. The owner has to know u r there, & not kick u off.

However, be prepared to go to court to enforce this. With a good real estate attorney, u should be able to get a court order forbidding ur neighbor from moving the fence.

Lawyer up, Hope current survey is wrong, or hope the title company will step up to the plate, Just remember while you may have a legal claim of adverse possession you must initiate the complaint in a civil court of equity, i.e. the plaintiff

If you can prove you paid the taxes on that land for the last 20 years you might win an adverse possession. Your tax essay office can tell you exactly what you paid for and what you did not. Have that (the land you pay taxes on) surveyed, otherwise you need to move the fence.

You need a lawyer on this, and you need to hire your own surveyor. A lot depends on a correct survey. There are also property rights depending on how long you have used the disputed property without anyone complaining, in which case the land reverts to you. But this is not a DIY issue. Get an attorney.