Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois

Re: maintenance vs. ownership

What you probably really have is not ownership, but an "easement by prescription" or an "easement by necessity", which are legal theories that you'll need to enforce in court if necessary. Get yourself a good local real estate litigator and quiz him/her about these legal theories. Don't expect them to know all the answers off the top of their head because these are issue that don't arise very often and would have to be researched, probably even by experts in the field.

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