Originally Posted by auerbach | view 177527

Such rights do exist in law, under various old terminology. Tell the neighbor you want to help to consult a lawyer or to look up on the internet "squatters rights," "eminent domain," or "adverse possession" plus the name of the state.For instance, in some jurisdictions, if you use unoccupied land continuously for a ten-year period during all of which time you fenced or otherwise marked it as for your own exclusive use, you can then claim it as yours. However, generally some authority (higher than a justice of the peace, such as a state-level judge) can accept or reject the takeover.Sometimes, rather than a costly court dispute, the two parties settle on a compromise, such as a change to the property deed giving the squatter some of the disputed property. (Typically the one who gains pays the costs, and undertakes to not make further such claims.)

Originally Posted by kthompson | view 177548

I have one suggestion for you, be very careful how you get drawn into this. Unless you are 125% sure you can help friends then run. There will be hard feelings and a looser if it goes to court. One will not be pleased by anyone's part in it, possibly both of them. Those who I know with such issues always have long, strong and often hard feelings. Never had one to go to court but we deal with access issues too often on what little we have and one neighbor who can never understand our land is not his to use. It is over and over and over with him. Have had very simple...get your junk off our land...conversation with him and before you know it, he has something else sitting on it.