Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

If you have some reason to believe the old chain-link fence is intruding across the property line and that a survey would show you've "lost" some significant square footage, by all means get a survey. However, I would advise against removing the fence without the neighbor's prior consent, because he may claim a property interest in it, and self-help to correct a trespass is not a permissible remedy -- you'd need a court order. However, a good survey and the possibility of a lawsuit may be all it takes to get the neighbor to cooperate by allowing you to remove and rebuild the fence on the proper boundary, especially if you agree to pay for it.

As to the likelihood of a successful claim by the neighbor that he has acquired title to the land through adverse possession, prescriptive easement, agreed boundary or some other theory, this is rather unlikely. Courts prefer to leave urban boundaries where the should be based upon lawful subdivisions, deed descriptions and accurate surveys, and find theories to deny claims based on boundary-shifting theories.

For example, adverse possession requires the claimant to have paid all the property taxes for five years. Since taxes are assessed and paid based upon deed descriptions and assessor parcel maps, it is unlikely your neighbor could claim successfully to have paid the property taxes.