Real Property Law

Resolving Disputes and Defining Rights for Landowners

While Real Estate law often focuses on the transaction of buying and selling, Real Property law dives deep into the rights, usage, and disputes that come with owning the land itself. Owning property is one of the most fundamental rights we have, but it is also a source of complex legal conflict. Land is permanent, but the laws governing it are fluid and often depend on historical records, surveys, and neighborhood relations. At the law office of Kenneth D. Bilodeau, we specialize in the “dirt law” aspects of ownership. We act as guardians of your property rights, ensuring that your land remains yours to use and enjoy without interference, and helping you resolve the conflicts that inevitably arise between neighbors, co-owners, and municipalities.

One of the most common issues we handle involves boundary line disputes. It is a scenario that plays out in neighborhoods everywhere: a homeowner puts up a fence, plants a row of hedges, or paves a driveway, only for the neighbor to claim they have crossed the property line. These disputes can quickly become emotional and heated, as they literally hit close to home. We help clients navigate these conflicts by moving beyond the arguments and looking at the facts. We work with professional surveyors to establish the true legal boundaries of the property. We also analyze the history of the land to see if legal concepts like “adverse possession” apply. This is a doctrine where a person can actually gain legal ownership of a neighbor’s land if they have used it openly and continuously for a certain number of years. Whether you are trying to reclaim land that a neighbor has encroached upon or defending your right to a strip of land you have maintained for decades, we provide the litigation support needed to settle the matter and quiet the title.

We also deal frequently with easements and rights-of-way. An easement is the legal right to use someone else’s land for a specific purpose, such as a shared driveway, a utility line, or a path to a lake. These rights are often buried in old deeds and can be poorly defined, leading to confusion and conflict. For example, does a “right of way” allow your neighbor to pave a road across your backyard, or just walk across it? Can you put a gate up? We help clients interpret existing easements and draft new ones that clearly define the scope of use, maintenance responsibilities, and liability. If you own “landlocked” property with no access to a public road, we can assist you in establishing an easement by necessity so that you can legally access and utilize your investment.

Another significant area of our practice is Partition Actions. This legal remedy is often necessary when multiple people own a single piece of property together and can no longer agree on what to do with it. This frequently happens when siblings inherit a family home or vacation cabin; one wants to keep it, and the other wants to sell it to get the cash. It also happens with unmarried couples who buy a house together and then break up. Unlike married couples who split assets in a divorce court, unmarried co-owners often find themselves in a legal limbo. We file partition actions to bring these deadlocks to a resolution. We try to negotiate a buyout where one owner purchases the other’s interest, but if that is not possible, we guide the process of a court-ordered sale to ensure the proceeds are divided fairly, accounting for who paid the mortgage, taxes, and repairs over the years.

Clouded titles are another challenge we solve. A “cloud” on a title is any document, claim, or lien that casts doubt on the legal ownership of the property. This could be an old mortgage that was paid off twenty years ago but never formally discharged at the registry of deeds, or a missing signature from a long-lost heir in the chain of title. These issues often lie dormant until you try to sell the property or refinance, at which point they can completely derail the transaction. We perform the investigative work necessary to clear these clouds. We file “Quiet Title” actions in court to remove these defects, resulting in a court order that declares you the sole and absolute owner, making your property marketable and insurable again.

We also assist clients with land use and zoning issues. You may own the land, but that does not always mean you can do whatever you want with it. Local ordinances dictate how close you can build to the road (setbacks), how tall your structure can be, and what type of business you can run. If you are planning an addition, a subdivision, or a change in use, we help you navigate the municipal red tape. We represent clients before Zoning Boards of Appeal and Planning Boards to request variances or special permits. We understand how to present a compelling case to local officials, showing that your project benefits the community and adheres to the spirit of the law.

Finally, we address issues of nuisance and trespass. You have a right to the “quiet enjoyment” of your property. If a neighbor is creating excessive noise, bad odors, or diverting water runoff onto your land causing flooding and damage, you may have a legal claim for nuisance. We help you obtain injunctions to stop the harmful behavior and seek compensation for any damages caused to your property value or your quality of life.

Real Property law requires a lawyer who is detail-oriented enough to read ancient handwritten deeds but practical enough to solve modern neighborhood problems. At Kenneth D. Bilodeau ATTY, we combine this historical expertise with a pragmatic approach to litigation. We are dedicated to protecting the sanctity of your home and land, ensuring that your property rights are respected and preserved for the future.