Q: My father and his siblings are selling land they inherited jointly; sitting adjacent to and on a small portion of the
Land sits the family church they allowed to be built giving them a parking area and a small yard and a fence to divide properties. This was done 40 years ago. The family found a buyer who had land surveyed & decided to buy. They close this week but the buyer now says he wants to remove fence and take back church yard and build a barn there. Does the church have any rights against this? Could adverse possession be applied here? We live in North Carolina
A:
No adverse possession does not apply because the church had your permission to use the land. Adverse possession requires that it was being done against your family's wishes.
My advice is to sign a long-term lease with the church, and then the buyer would take the land subject to that lease.
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