Does an individual in the United States of America REALLY own property? When any governmental entity can take?
473496
No, the individuals can lose their property at the whim of the government or corporations that have strong government ties.
370355
It requires somewhat more than just taking care of the property. What you are referring to is called adverse possession, which by Texas law, must be "an actual and visible appropriation of real property, commenced and continued under a claim of right that is inconsistent with and is hostile to the claim of another person." Further, the true owner of the land has a period of time from the commencement of that possession to file a claim, though the time period depends on the circumstances. I would contact a lawyer and see what your options are. If you built a fence around the land and kept it for long enough, it would be yours.
762910
Yes.  Several ways, like liens for taxes or other government services, or judgement liens from lawsuits, or a Lis Pendens from plaintiffs suing the owner for something.
1017584
This is state law, so it depends on your state.\nHowever, if the property is illegal it will never be returned.  If there is an ongoing investigation, they can keep the property until the case is resolved, in the event of a cold case, this could be indefinate depending on the property in question, or until the statute of limitations runs out on the crime.\n\nFor a more specific answer, the property, the reason for seizure, and the state would be required.
143656
Yes most definitely and that applies even today. It falls under eminent domain. The Govt. can even take your house
521747
Adverse possession is what is commonly called "squatter's rights." Basically, if you openly use and control land that you do not actually own, after a certain period of time (which varies from state to state), you own the land and can file a "quiet title" action and receive legal rights to the land. If at any point during that period the rightful owner evicts you or files suit to force you to leave, the clock begins ticking again.
77141
The government has the ability to take your property, but under the Constitution must give you reasonable consideration for it.
771082
You might check to see if, under Arizona law, adverse possession is possible against the federal government. Alternatively, you can ask your local congressman and/or senators to intercede on your behalf.
1090234
Possession is 9/10's the law, therefore since you are acting on behalf of the bank who owns the property, you don't have to contact the people.  I'm sure they've had plenty of notices, too.  Those people no longer own the property, therefore their personal belongings no longer belong to them.
613546
What would be important to know is if you live in a community property state. If you do, you can't do it on your own.
549703
No matter where you live, what country,  what company or the money amount the golden rule remains the same: you do not keep what it's not yours. You have NO RIGHTS.
27133
When you own a piece of property it becomes private property.  You still have to pay taxes and follow the laws of the federal, state and local governments.  [for example, murder is still against the law.]
217173
Yes they can.  Lots of Canadians own property in the US just as lots of people from the US own property in Canada.
593420
A governmental entity with the powers of eminent domain can do anything it deems to be for public use, which the US Supreme Court has recently re-defined as also including the public INTEREST.  (See Kelo v. New London case).\n\nSo long as there are no additional state constitutional or state or city statutory limitations on the city of Hercules (you'd have to check state and local laws to be sure there are not), then the answer is yes, they can do it.\n\nWhich doesn't make it right, it just makes it legal.
405519
IN property law often times ACTUALLY Holding on to an object or occupying some land is often decisive.\n\nFor example: if you are walking down a street and someone snatches your purse and is then caught, YOU do not have to prove that the purse is ACTUALLY yours, that you did not steal it yesterday etc etc, before the person is convicted as a thief. All you have to show to convict that person of theft is that you were just holding on to a purse before he snatched it. \n\nSimilar reasoning dictates that if your purse is stolen and is not found within 5 years(statute of limitations) the thief basically now owns the purse, because there is no way you can prosecute him(so the thief acquired an object by actual possession although he never legally acquired it).\n\nThis doctrine also often applies to real property. If you actually LIVE on the land(but don't have a legal title, basically you are squatting) you can kick off a new trespasser without showing title. And if you live on the land long enough(usually 10 years) You will get a Title to it, and the person who had it before but did not use the land looses it(This is known as adverse possession).\n\nSo basically often(90% of time) the entitlement to property will be useless or irrelevant while ACTUAL POSSESSION will control.
1072013
Any or all, depending upon how the state's laws are written.\n\nFor example, in California, any property gained or held by the married couple jointly is treated as community property. However, any property that was gained or held in other states, which would have been community property if they were in California, is also treated as (quasi)-community property.\n\nSome states may have laws that say anything that is/was community property retains that character even if they move out of state (to a non-community property state). This matters because real property (land, buildings, etc) are always resolved (at time of divorce) by the state in which they are located, regardless of where the divorce happens. So certain state laws may apply, even if the couple now lives out of state.\n\nIt's also important to distinguish between residence and domicile. Domicile is the last place you lived that you intended you remain indefinitely. If you go live somewhere else, but don't have the intent to remain there indefinitely (such as going for school, or a fixed-term consulting job, etc.) then your domicile doesn't change, even though you are now a resident of the new state.\n\nAs always, when you have legal questions about your specific rights and obligations, consult an attorney licensed in the state in question. For more than one state, you probably need to consult more than one attorney, since each is only licensed for specific states.
22471
And who do you think is in a position that they are property of another person?