Reference no: EM131864260

Question: Denise welch purchased property in 1980. The adjacent property was vacant. in 1985, welch planted a tree on what she thought was her property. As it turned out, she planted the trees across the property line, on the vacant lot. Around 1994, Welch built a work shed behind the tree she had planted in 1985. Welch also landscaped around the shed. Before installing these improvements in 1994, Welch made some effort to located the boundary between her lot and the vacant lot but failed to ascertain the true boundary. As a result, unbeknownst to Welch, the wood shed and the landscaping partially encroached on the vacant lot. In March 2001, the Harrisons purchased the vacant lot. In June 2001, the Harrisons had the property surveyed. The survey revealed that the woodshed encroached up to 7.25 feet onto their lot an the landscaping encroached up to 9.8 feet. The total area of the encroachment amounted to 8 percent of the lot. The Harrisons sued Welch to remove the encroachment. Welch argued the she had right to the encroached land though, amongst other things, adverse possession. What does Welch need to prove to establish ownership through adverse possession? Do you believe she will be successful? Why or why not?