Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Arkansas

There are two principal areas of law or legal concepts where this issue is addressed. Adverse possession and boundary by acquiesence. If the fence has been up for several years (no specific time period) and was recognized as a boundary by present and/or past owners, the encroacher may allege boundary by acquiesence. If the fence was only recently constructed, you should point out the encroachment and demand removal so as to avoid acquiesence. In order to establish adverse possession, an encroacher must establish that the possession has been Open, Continuous (7 or 15 years depending on type and location of property) Adverse, Exclusive, and Notorious. In addition, the Arkansas statute was amended some years ago to require an adverse possessor to also show "color of title". "Color of Title" has been established in case law to include a deed from someone purporting to have title and also to apply to an adjacent land owner who has paid taxes on the subject property for the requisite possession period (7 or 15 years).

As always, contact an attorney to address your specific situtation.