NFPA Paralegal Core Competency Exam (PCCE)Substantive LawMedium
A paralegal is assisting an attorney with a case involving a dispute over a piece of land. The client claims ownership based on continuous, open, hostile, and exclusive possession of the property for over 20 years, even though the record title belongs to another party. This claim is most likely based on which legal principle?
- AAdverse possession
- BEminent domain
- CZoning variance
- DEasement by prescription
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: A. Adverse possession
Adverse possession allows a person to acquire title to real property by occupying it openly, hostilely, continuously, and exclusively for a statutory period, even without the true owner's permission.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. Eminent domain is the government's power to take private property for public use with compensation.
- C. A zoning variance is an exception to zoning ordinances, unrelated to property ownership claims.
- D. Easement by prescription grants a right to use another's land, not ownership.
Adverse Possession
A legal principle under which a person who does not have legal title to a property acquires legal ownership based on continuous, open, hostile, and exclusive occupation for a statutory period.
- Requires specific elements: open, notorious, continuous, hostile, exclusive, and actual possession.
- Statutory period varies by state (e.g., 5-20 years).
- Results in a new title, extinguishing the original owner's.
Memory trick: Adverse Acts Acquire Actual Acres.