[maureenma]

My neighbor and I were friends for 35 years but have not been friends for the past 2 years. She now has decided that she owns about 16 inches of my properly along the property line. The line has always been defined by her fence and her driveway. My husband has been mowing the lawn that begins on the edge of her driveway for 38 years. We have had a fence and bushes across the newly staked markers for approximately 30 years. We have underground sprinklers in the area that she now claims is her property. By the way, her deceased husband watched them put the sprinklers in more than a decade ago. She is a bitter nasty woman who has alienated most of the neighbors. What am I supposed to do about this. The stakes are in my lawn and may impede lawnmowing. She told me last year that she wants me to spend $800 on a surveyor to dispute it, since she had to spend that amount to get her property surveyed to settle a land dispute with the neighbor in the back of us. She lost that fight. Since we do not intend to do anything to our land, is this an issue? If it is, what do we do? Just because someone starts trouble, are we forced to respond or can we just ignore her?

[AK lawyer]

... What am I supposed to do about this. The stakes are in my lawn and may impede lawnmowing. She told me last year that she wants me to spend $800 on a surveyor to dispute it, since she had to spend that amount to get her property surveyed to settle a land dispute with the neighbor in the back of us. She lost that fight. Since we do not intend to do anything to our land, is this an issue? If it is, what do we do? Just because someone starts trouble, are we forced to respond or can we just ignore her?

It appears to me that, even if she is right about the "original" property line, you have possessed the property with elements required for "adverse possession", which means that she probably has waited too long to successfully make a claim in court for the now-disputed strip of land.

What stakes impede lawn mowing? Did a surveyor set these stakes? Depending on the law in your state, you might run into legal trouble for removing them if so.

And I would not pay for a survey. It appears to me that even if she is right about where the line should be, she doesn't have a case and so a survey would not mater either way.

The law of adverse possession can be complex, with subtle differences from state to state. I suggest you consult with an attorney knowledgeable on the subject and licensed to practice law in your state.