[natalono]

There is a small path enclosed in my garden that is on my neighbours deeds. I have lived at property for 11 and a half years now and access gate has always been in same place. Neighbour now threatening me to move the gate back to its original position.
Where do I stand as when I bought the house my solicitor searches did not pick up on this, so I was never to blame in the first place.
I have a 5yr old son who is registered blind and because I asked my neighbour not to park in front of my gate because of my son another disagreement has occurred over position of gate!
I hear that after 12yrs of maintaining and enclosing land within my property that I might be able to reclaim?
The other problem I have now is that my house is being sold and don't want any distruption to that.
My neighbour has sent me a letter now ( that he printed himself) saying he wants us to remove our gate from his property within 7 days or he will remove and give back to us.
My question is would it be worth me pursuing trying to reclaim land and how much is that likely to cost or should I just move the gate back to original position that it has not been in for over 14yrs that I know of?

[ScottGem]

Local laws vary by area so we need to know where you are. We also need to understand what you mean by "on your neighbor's deeds". Is the path on your property, but your neighbor's have an easement?

[joypulv]

'Adverse possession' laws go by country and then by state or province. You say solicitor, so that means not US. In the US, as well as most countries I know of, possession must be hostile as well as open, and you may meet the open part, but not the hostile part. Your neighbor has a right to allow a path and a gate for a while and then take that right back, especially now that you are selling the property.
Not being to 'blame' when you bought the place is no bearing on the case other than you might have sued any one of various people, from the former owner to the real estate broker to the solicitor, and if you bought a title insurance policy (a one time payment when you buy a house), you might have a claim against them.

I personally would move the gate, because I think you will lose.
And there will be plenty of disruption when you sell if it isn't clear before then.

[ScottGem]

Joy, I'm not sure it's the OP's gate to move. The way I read it, path is on the OP's property and the neighbor has an easement to use it. The gate is the neighbor's. At least that's the way I read it. I think we need more clarification.

[AK lawyer]

Joy, I'm not sure it's the OP's gate to move. The way I read it, path is on the OP's property and the neighbor has an easement to use it. The gate is the neighbor's. At least that's the way I read it. I think we need more clarification.

The way I read it, OP may or may not have an easement, for the path, across neighbor's property, but the problem seems to be that at some point the path was moved so that the gate (at one end of the easement perhaps?) was moved from one point to another.

If OP can draw a sketch, upload it somewhere, and put a link to it in this thread, that might be helpful.

[joypulv]

I think OP's gate and path encroach on the neighbor's land, have done so since before she bought her house, and now that she's selling, the neighbor understandably wants the boundary back to where it was long ago, as shown on the deeds. Or his deed anyway - she didn't say what hers says.

I didn't take her wording as literally as she wrote it.