Unclaimed Personal Property Texas law describes when certain forms of personal property are "presumed abandoned. Texas Law. Texas Property Code, Chapter 72 Governs when various types of personal property may be presumed abandoned, including unpaid wages, utility deposits, and more.
Texas Property Code, Chapter 73 Governs abandoned property held by financial institutions like banks or credit unions. Texas Property Code, Chapter 74 Outlines the report, delivery, and claims process for unclaimed property and money handled by the Texas Comptroller. Texas Property Code, Chapter 76 Outlines the report, delivery, and claims process for unclaimed property held by school districts, local governments, and junior colleges. Who to Contact. Missing Money This nationwide database of unclaimed property is endorsed by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators and many participating states, including Texas.
If you aren't able to locate your unclaimed property through the Texas Comptroller's website, it may be available through a different government office. The Comptroller's website has a list of common unclaimed property types and where to find them. Adverse Possession Adverse possession is a process in which a person makes a legal claim to real property that did not belong to them originally.
Sections Sometimes this issue is referred to as "squatter's rights. Understanding the Law. Adverse Possession in Texas This article, written by a Texas attorney, is a good primer to the issues involved with adverse possession of real property. This article from Nolo, a legal publisher, discusses how adverse possession law works in Texas. The subjects of a trespasser's intent and government land are also discussed.
Adverse Possession: When Trespassers Become Property Owners This Nolo article gives a breakdown of how adverse possession claims can be made in various situations. Mincer 46 Cal. Hallam 30 Cal. As a general matter, the doctrine is strictly construed and the burden of proving all of the essential elements is on the party seeking to assert the right to title.
See Landini v. Day Cal. Robinson 47 Cal. Each of the elements must be proved, and the failure to pay taxes on the land to which title is claimed is fatal. Gilardi, supra, at pp. Casper 51 Cal. To prove possession, you must do such things as mark off the property in some obvious way to show the area you are claiming and use or improve the property continuously for a minimum of five years. Many authorities indicate that one should not view adverse possession as seizing the land, but should view it as the title owner FAILING to take legal action to protect the ownership of the land.
In that view, adverse possession is really a form of statute of limitations in which a plaintiff the title owner is barred from taking legal action against a trespasser because the plaintiff waited too long.
As one of the oldest forms of land disputes, there are thousands of cases dealing with adverse possession in almost every jurisdiction of Anglo Saxon law. Most of the cases deal with the factual question as to what action constitutes de facto notice to the title holder that adverse possession is being claimed.
Typical situations: a fence is built but three years later is half demolished; the adverse possessor only occasionally visits the property; the title holder showed up once a year and the adverse possessor was away at work and the fence not in repair, etc, etc. It is a question of fact for the Trier of fact to determine if the criteria above were met and were met for the full five years or longer. Thus the average trial centers around proof that the criteria was met, with the title holder bringing in witnesses to claim that the possession was not continuous or obvious and the adverse possessor doing the opposite.
One of the leading cases discussed the presumption as follows:. Defendants asserted prejudice due to the intervening deaths of three likely witnesses.
But all presumptions favor the record owner of the property, and all doubts are resolved against the adverse possessor, so that any prejudice caused by the loss of these witnesses' testimony would work against plaintiff, not defendants. Or, as stated in 1 Cal.
If you are considering claiming adverse possession, it is thus vital to move as quickly as you can after you have met all statutory criteria so you can prove your case before witnesses disappear. But you do not have to bring the case: it is up to the title holder to force you out, not vice versa.
Rather, it is the record owner -- not the intruder -- who must bring an action within five years after adverse possession commences in order to recover the property. Of course, the danger of waiting is that it makes proof of continuous adverse possession for the full five years more difficult because witnesses and other evidence might disappear. Interestingly, changes to the law that took effect in make it easier to prove continuous possession since the law now requires that the adverse possessor prove they timely paid the taxes by introducing records certified by the county tax assessor.
Or perhaps you believe the land is in your legal ownership, but it has never been registered at Land Registry, and you have lost the original deeds? It is possible to claim ownership of land and register the title at Land Registry so long as certain conditions are met. Adverse Possession means to occupy land which may belong to another with the intention of treating it as your own.
Unregistered land is that which is not currently registered at Land Registry as being under any legal ownership. If you do currently occupy an unregistered piece of land that you feel is rightfully yours, it may be possible to register it as such at Land Registry if you meet at least the following criteria:. You must have met the above criteria openly, continuously, and for at least the last 12 years except in the case of land owned by a public body e.
If you believe you have met the criteria, then the next step is to contact your solicitor. Your solicitor will ask you to provide as much information as possible relating to the land, including a plan showing the extent of the land and as much evidence as you can provide, including photos showing the boundaries, fencing and any documentation showing you have purchased and maintained the fencing and gates. If you believe that you did once possess the deeds showing your ownership of the land, but they have been lost, please advise your solicitor of this as this is an important detail that your solicitor will need to include within the application.
Your solicitor will prepare a Statement of Truth or Statutory Declaration that you must swear in the presence of a solicitor. This document will contain the information evidencing your claim to ownership and will also contain any documentary evidence i. Once the Statutory Declaration has been finalised and sworn, your solicitor will use that document to make their application to the Land Registry.
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