What is the difference between color of title and claim of right?

Answer 1

AnswerThose are two different concepts in law and both are raised in adverse possession claims.

Color of title results when a written instrument that purports to transfer title to real property either has no effect because the grantor doesn't own the property or there is some defect in the title. The purported owner may have already sold the land to someone else or he may have thought he owned the land by inheritance and he did not. There may be missing interests of people who inherited a portion long ago and never conveyed their interests forward and their estates were never probated. Perhaps he only inherited a quarter interest through his father's estate yet his father had long held himself out as the owner. In any case, color of title must occur by some sort of writing that can convey ownership of land. Generally, color of title must be confirmed by a court decree in an action for adverse possession or an action to quiet title.

In one interesting case involving only of color of title a surveyor inadvertently added a six acre parcel to the perimeter of the survey of a 200 acre tract. The six acres was, of course, laid out over a neighbors property. The purported owner of the surveyed property 'sold' the six acre parcel and a luxury home was built by a buyer who had actually received nothing in her deed. Fortunately the actual owners of the land negotiated a fair price and the problem was solved by a deed from the true owner.

A claim of title is different. A claim of title is made by someone who cannot allege that the title had ever come into their possession in the past. He has dispossessed the true owner by virtue of civil trespass. However, the true owner has taken no legal action to evict him. In order to prevail in a claim of title by adverse possession the following elements must be present and the title must be eventually confirmed by a court decree in most jurisdictions.

• Actual possession of the property
• Open and notorious use of the property
• Exclusive use of the property
• Hostile or adverse use of the property
• Continuous use of the property

Note that 'registered land' cannot be taken by adverse possession. Note also an interesting difference:

• A claim of color of title for a ten acre parcel of land, if successful, would vest title in the ten acres.
• If the same person cleared five acres out of that parcel and prevailed in an adverse possession suit claiming a right to possession rather than color of title they would only acquire title to the portion that was cleared.