Adverse Possession

When teaching a class I tell me we still have rules and laws that go back to the Wild, Wild West. Long ago when people moved west to claim their fortune they laid claim to parcels of land. So long as they lived on that land for a stated period they would become the owner of record. Often people abandoned these properties and others would take them over. Once they lived there for a specified period of time they laid legal claim to the property. To claim ownership they must own the property Open, Continuous, Exclusive, Adverse, notorious for a Statutory period of time.