Boundary & Title Litigation
Quiet Title & Boundary Disputes in Utah
When surveys conflict, fences do not match deeds, or someone claims your land, you need precise legal strategy grounded in Utah's unique doctrines.
We blend historical record analysis with modern GIS evidence to resolve boundary, easement, and title disputes statewide.
Boundary Dispute Resolution
Boundary by Acquiescence (20 Years)
Utah Code Ann. § 78B-2-216 - No hostility required
- • Mutual recognition of fence/monument for 20+ years
- • Uncertainty about true boundary
- • Both parties treated line as boundary
- • Anderson v. Fautin clarified "occupation" standards
Adverse Possession (7 Years with Taxes)
Utah Code Ann. § 78B-2-214 - Hostile possession required
- • Open and notorious possession
- • Continuous for statutory period
- • Exclusive use
- • Payment of all taxes
- • Color of title reduces time period
Prescriptive Easements (20 Years)
- • Continuous use without permission
- • Open and observable
- • No exclusivity required
- • Cannot be for mere convenience
Quiet Title Actions
When Quiet Title is Necessary
- • Missing heirs from incomplete probates
- • Forged deeds in chain of title
- • Tax sale complications
- • Wild deeds outside the chain
- • Boundary disputes requiring judicial determination
- • Mineral rights uncertainties
The Quiet Title Process
- 1. Title examination – Full chain review to territorial patent
- 2. Identify defendants – All potential claimants
- 3. Service requirements – Personal service or publication
- 4. Statutory waiting period – Allow claims to surface
- 5. Default or trial – Establish title priority
- 6. Final decree – Marketable title restored
Evidence That Wins Boundary Cases
- • Historical aerial photography (1937-present)
- • GLO survey records and field notes
- • Tax assessment maps showing payment history
- • Fence maintenance records
- • Utility easement locations
- • Witness testimony about historical use
Representative Experience
- • Quieted title affecting 400+ acres with 1880s deed gaps
- • Defeated boundary by acquiescence claim using aerial photographs and neighbors’ family photographs
- • Established prescriptive easement for commercial access
- • Reformed deeds with incorrect legal descriptions
Boundary problem? Get clarity: (801) 346-8120
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