In this case, a woman kept a goat pen that encroached on his parcel for the 20 years necessary under Delaware law to gain adverse possession.
People have gained adverse possession by trespassing to hunt on other people’s property and never being challenged.
If you have land, you need to post it with a ■■■■ load of no trespassing signs and you need to keep a watch out for signs of encroachment. And if you find signs of encroachment, you need to act immediately. Every day you stall, the clock runs on adverse possession and in some States it is as short as five years. Get the people trespassed by the police. File an action for ejectment if it comes to that.
The guy in the OP is out $125,000 because his parents and he failed to keep a diligent eye.
Interestingly, Alberta just abolished adverse possession.
