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A New York piece of land is assumed to be owned by a corporation. The last known corporate officer is deceased, yet I have been paying the property taxes since 2012. No one knows how to get a clear title to the land. I want to sell it but don't have clear title, so what can I do?

Lahaina Araneta, JD
Attorney at Law
Lahaina Araneta, Esq. is an Immigration Attorney for Orange County, California with over 6 years of experience. She received her JD from Loyola Law School in 2012. In law school, she participated in the immigrant justice practicum and served as a volunteer with several nonprofit agencies.

Lahaina Araneta, JD

Attorney at Law

Expert Answer

You need to file an action for 'quiet title.' This is a lawsuit in a court that has jurisdiction over the property, to establish a party's title to real property, thus "quiet" any challenges or claims to the title.

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Can I claim ownership on property I paid taxes on in South Carolina?

Lahaina Araneta, JD
Attorney at Law
Lahaina Araneta, Esq. is an Immigration Attorney for Orange County, California with over 6 years of experience. She received her JD from Loyola Law School in 2012. In law school, she participated in the immigrant justice practicum and served as a volunteer with several nonprofit agencies.

Lahaina Araneta, JD

Attorney at Law

Expert Answer

You need to meet all the elements of your state's adverse possession requirements. Here is an excerpt from the website "statelaws.findlaw" about SC's adverse possession laws: "To validly adversely possess a property you must openly, obviously, and actually be on the land treating it as your own, as well as exclusively and continuously for as many years as is required by state law. In South Carolina, the time period is 10 years."

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Can someone buy the property I've been paying squatter's rights on?

Lahaina Araneta, JD
Attorney at Law
Lahaina Araneta, Esq. is an Immigration Attorney for Orange County, California with over 6 years of experience. She received her JD from Loyola Law School in 2012. In law school, she participated in the immigrant justice practicum and served as a volunteer with several nonprofit agencies.

Lahaina Araneta, JD

Attorney at Law

Expert Answer

Yes, because you do not "pay" for squatter's rights. If you've simply been squatting there, someone else can purchase the property legally.

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I have been paying the land taxes on land that I have a home on for 10 years. Someone else owns the land but they will not pay the land taxes. Is the land mine legally?

Lahaina Araneta, JD
Attorney at Law
Lahaina Araneta, Esq. is an Immigration Attorney for Orange County, California with over 6 years of experience. She received her JD from Loyola Law School in 2012. In law school, she participated in the immigrant justice practicum and served as a volunteer with several nonprofit agencies.

Lahaina Araneta, JD

Attorney at Law

Expert Answer

If someone else owns it, you maybe the owner through adverse possession. Yet, pending on your state, you may or may not have met the qualifications.

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I have property that was given to me by death. How do I get a clear deed?

Lahaina Araneta, JD
Attorney at Law
Lahaina Araneta, Esq. is an Immigration Attorney for Orange County, California with over 6 years of experience. She received her JD from Loyola Law School in 2012. In law school, she participated in the immigrant justice practicum and served as a volunteer with several nonprofit agencies.

Lahaina Araneta, JD

Attorney at Law

Expert Answer

You need to file an action for 'quiet title.' This is a lawsuit in a court that has jurisdiction over the property, to establish a party's title to real property, thus "quiet" any challenges or claims to the title.

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Do those rules pertain to foreign countries?

Lahaina Araneta, JD
Attorney at Law
Lahaina Araneta, Esq. is an Immigration Attorney for Orange County, California with over 6 years of experience. She received her JD from Loyola Law School in 2012. In law school, she participated in the immigrant justice practicum and served as a volunteer with several nonprofit agencies.

Lahaina Araneta, JD

Attorney at Law

Expert Answer

Some rules may overlap with common law rules from other countries, but this article is intended to cover U.S. Law.

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How does this apply in Australia with its Native Title Act?

Lahaina Araneta, JD
Attorney at Law
Lahaina Araneta, Esq. is an Immigration Attorney for Orange County, California with over 6 years of experience. She received her JD from Loyola Law School in 2012. In law school, she participated in the immigrant justice practicum and served as a volunteer with several nonprofit agencies.

Lahaina Araneta, JD

Attorney at Law

Expert Answer

This is not related at all. The Native Title Act, the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title is referred to as native title, which is "the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous people have rights and interests to their land that come from their traditional laws and customs."

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I am buying land and an improvement on land contract, have lived there for 11 1/2 years, and have been paying all the mortgage, and insurance and taxes. I've paid taxes for about eight years straight, as someone else made a payment for us one year. Can I claim squatters rights on this property in Wisconsin?

Lahaina Araneta, JD
Attorney at Law
Lahaina Araneta, Esq. is an Immigration Attorney for Orange County, California with over 6 years of experience. She received her JD from Loyola Law School in 2012. In law school, she participated in the immigrant justice practicum and served as a volunteer with several nonprofit agencies.

Lahaina Araneta, JD

Attorney at Law

Expert Answer

It depends if you meet all the elements of adverse possession in Wisconsin. The website "wisbar.org" states: "The Wisconsin Statutes delineate the requirements of adverse possession and define the term adverse possession. ... Under the common law, possession for the statutory period must be exclusive, uninterrupted, continuous, and hostile, and there must be open and notorious actual occupancy."

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Can you claim property that one on has touched in 24 years? The property is natural land that has no address. It is between a house and a highway.

Lahaina Araneta, JD
Attorney at Law
Lahaina Araneta, Esq. is an Immigration Attorney for Orange County, California with over 6 years of experience. She received her JD from Loyola Law School in 2012. In law school, she participated in the immigrant justice practicum and served as a volunteer with several nonprofit agencies.

Lahaina Araneta, JD

Attorney at Law

Expert Answer

You need to go to your state's administrative office and research their real property database.

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