Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Virginia

Re: adverse possesion

Correction: The required term of years for adverse possession in Virginia is, apparently, 15 rather than 21 as stated in my prior answer.

Re: adverse possesion

Adverse possession is a method of acquiring title to property which belongs to someone else without paying for it, monetarily speaking. It requires the title claimant to be in continuous possession of the property for the required length of time (in Virginia it's 21 years, I think, or thereabouts), and in what is ususally described in the law as a manner that is manifestly "open and notorious". That means, basically, that the title claimant occupys the property in such a boldly assertive way that noone in the area of the property would doubt that he in fact is the legitimate owner. And, of course, the foregoing also presumes that during this time period that the real owner of the property has not appeared to question the title claimant as to his occupancy of the property and taken actions to contest this occupancy or have the title claimant removed from the property.

If in fact the title claimant succeeeds in meeting all of the requirements for attaining adverse possession of the property, then this person should be able to obtain an order from the circuit court in the jurisdiction in which the property is located which formally awards him legal title to the property and which will allow him to record a deed in his name as the legal owner of the property which he has acquired through adverse possession.