Chris, First of all Surveyors nor Land Owners nor Attorneys have any legal authority whatsoever to determine disputed property boundaries. When disputes arise theres a well settled and huge volume of law to judicially determine boundaries in cases of dispute. Surveyors, however, are qualified and competent to render "expert opinions" concerning boundaries which depends most critical upon the starting points, legal descriptions and deeds of record and finally their abilities and the accuray of their survey. Different surveyors could have differing opinions you see, and their "stakes" DO NOT necessarily mean thats the boundary as a strict matter of law. States differ as to the common and staturoty law regarding this, so I cant say what the law is in your area. Indiana (where I practice) has a statutory method whereby a licensed surveyor can perform whats called a "legal survey" when the proper legal notice is given to adjoining landowners, a survey is conducted and stakes are set, and those boundaries can, if unchallenged and the other statutory requirements met, ripen into the judicially determined boundary. Not sure in your state, consult a local attorney. Nowwwww wwww in addition to Deeds of record and legal descriptions and roads and whether or not they have been properly abandoned, other issues can come into play to determine any legal boundary such as the law of "adverse possession" Generally speaking, YES your property could well run to the middle of a certain road, but issues such as if it was an easement conveyed by deed or adverse possession or proper abandonment or eminent domain might affect that general rule. BOTTOM LINE these issues are complex and can depend on Deeds of record and prior land useage etc etc etc etc plus are also very local THEREFORE even though Im an Attorney, theres not much that can be said on this board by lay persons or myself that can really help you all that much YOU NEED TO CONSULT LOCAL COUNSEL. In the meantime my best free advice is to gather up an abstract of yours and prior deeds (info available AT LOCAL COUNTY COURTHOUSE FREE OF CHARGE EXCEPOT FOR COPIES) of record and check with the local recorder for any surveys that might have been recorded as a public record and it wouldnt hurt to lay claim to where you believe in good faith the lines to be to place the world on notice of your claim of possession BUT DO NOT BREACH THE PEACE!!!!! !!!!! ! Best wishes n God Bless John T, Attorney at Law in Indiana
|