Adverse Possession: An Advanced Course for Professional Land Surveyors

Adverse Possession: An Advanced Course for Professional Land Surveyors

Course Outline

This is a three-hour course for professional land surveyors and civil engineers. Failure to recognize, or properly describe, adverse possession may create enormous liability for a professional. Boundary surveyors must be familiar with this doctrine, as retracement surveys are frequently complicated by claims of adverse possession. The appearance of surveyors in court is often triggered by issues of adverse possession, with attorneys relying heavily on surveyors as experts in what is a frequently difficult legal doctrine.

A student learns why a survey of original property lines cannot, by itself, revive the rights to land lost in adverse possession. A student also learns why understanding the elements of adverse rights is critical. The course takes an in-depth look at this legally recognized way of taking title to property by physical occupation. The course examines why adverse possession is always a hostile act. In all states, possession must run for a statutory period, and the course examines these extremes, as well as noting that individual states can have varying statutory periods. The student learns that the adverse claimant, not the original owner, is charged with the burden of proof.

This course also examines the effect of surveys on such claims. For instance, can an accurate survey by itself cure claims of adverse possession? Through examples and court citations, the course also discusses the doctrine of prescription and its relationship to adverse possession. Using an extensive hypothetical case, the course examines statutes of limitations, color of title, open and notorious possession, hostile possession, and a surveyor's explicit duties to clients and courts.

This course includes a multiple choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of the course, the student will:

Learn techniques to avoid exposure to undue liability and legal complications;
Be familiar with the ancient principles of common law from which adverse possession originates;
Be familiar with the statutory nature of this doctrine;
Understand the effect of surveys and monumentation on claims of adverse possession;
Learn about the multiple exemptions to claims of adverse possession that effect boundary law;
Become comfortable with the ten well-established and fundamental elements of adverse possession;
Obtain a greater clarity regarding the doctrine of prescription and its relationship to adverse possession;
Gain a working familiarity with the differences between actual possession, open and notorious possession, continuous possession, hostile possession and exclusive possession;
Understand the recognized duties that a surveyor has to a court and to the client when encountering adverse possession; and
Be familiar with a number of texts that are essential guides for any surveyor conducting boundary surveys, and that serve as permanent in-office references for adverse possession cases.

Intended Audience

This course is intended for civil engineers and land surveyors.

Benefit to Attendees

Failure to understand adverse possession can expose a professional land surveyor to great liability. Given that adverse possession is a complex, legally defined means of taking title to property by physical occupation, the surveyor must understand this critical doctrine. Retracement surveys are frequently complicated by claims, or evidence, of adverse possession. Attendee of this course will be able to enhance the understanding of adverse possession.

Course Introduction

Adverse possession is a legally recognized way, or method, of taking title to property by physical occupation. It is always a hostile act. Based on ancient principles of common law, adverse possession is defined by statute on a state-by-state basis. In all states, possession must run for a statutory period, and the adverse claimant is charged with the burden of proof.

Boundary surveyors must be familiar with this doctrine, as retracement surveys are frequently complicated by claims of adverse possession. A survey of original property lines cannot, by itself, revive the rights to land lost in adverse possession. Understanding the elements of adverse rights--with an awareness that variations exist between state laws--is critical. The appearance of surveyors in court is often triggered by issues of adverse possession, with attorneys relying heavily on surveyors as experts in what is often a difficult legal doctrine.

Adverse Possession: An Advanced Course for Professional Land Surveyors, is a three-hour course that reviews the historic concepts of adverse possession, the statutory character of these actions, and the burden of proof against the claimant. This course examines the effect of surveys on such claims, exemptions to claims of adverse possession, and the well established elements of adverse possession. The course also discusses the doctrine of prescription and its relationship to adverse possession. Using various examples both from classic texts and the author?s experiences, the course discusses statutes of limitations, color of title, and a surveyor?s explicit duties to clients and courts.

Course Content

In this course, you are required to study the following document:

Adverse Possession: An Advanced Course for Professional Land Surveyors (21 pages, PDF, 668 KB).

Please click on the underlined hypertext above to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right-clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Course Summary

Adverse possession is a complex, legally defined means of taking title to property by physical occupation. Its definitions vary from state to state. Possession must run for a statutory period, again defined by different states. The adverse claimant is charged with the burden of proof. A survey by itself of original property lines cannot revive the rights to land lost in adverse possession. In all states and jurisdictions, adverse possession requires: occupation for the full statutory period, actual physical occupation, open and notorious occupation, and exclusive and adverse occupation for a statutorily prescribed period.

There are basic elements of adverse possession which are necessary for a claim to "ripen" into clear title. Those elements include actual possession, open and notorious possession, continuous possession, hostile possession and exclusive possession. In some states, other elements are required as well.

There are also well-established exemptions to claims of adverse possession. These exemptions include adverse claims against the federal government, states, and municipalities. Some individuals are exempt, but only in special cases.

Because issues of adverse possession often revolve around court decisions that are subject to legal interpretation, contacting an attorney when encountering adverse possession is smart, and implementing a "team approach" to solving disputed boundaries is prudent.

Last, there are well established principles that dictate a surveyor's duties to a court when encountering adverse possession. Those duties are predominately to one's client, entail using good sense, and lean on time honored principles of following in the original surveyor's footsteps.

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.