A 'friend' did a survey? I think you should have the city or county do an official survey. They may even do it free of charge. After that you will have a definite answer.

Have your OWN survey done, to either confirm what your neighbor says, or to refute what s/he says. If part of your driveway is encroaching on his property, s/he is within his/her rights, to demand you remove it and to pay for its removal, yourself. I would not act like that, in the interest of being a "good neighbor," but not everyone would agree with me. I'm not currently an attorney in any jurisdiction, so I suggest you consult one, if you think there might be serious problems with your neighbor, because of this. +5

The town should have a surveyed map of the property lines. Sounds to me like this guy is being a dink. Get the town map. Hopefully it turns out for the better for you and one of his trees or something is on your property.

Just because his "friend" did a survey, it does not mean squat. I would check with an attorney as to what your rights are since it varies depending upon the city, county and state you live in. Since you have technically maintained that area and your driveway has been there this long, your new neighbor may not have a leg to stand on. Honestly, if I were you, if you find out that they have no legal claim to your driveway, I would sue them for attorney fees and harassment.

Get it surveyed yourself. If he's right, he's right. If not, you don't need to do squat with your driveway. End of story.

Wow, I can't believe that everyone missed it. This is an obvious case of Adverse Possession. One of the fundamental principles of American property law is that if someone else is using your property in an open and notorious manner and you fail to notice it for a very long time, then you don't deserve to own that property anymore. It goes back to the early days of America when the government wanted to reward those people who make efficient use of property instead of just owning it for the sake of having lots of land. You'll have to look up the specific rules for adverse possession in your state. Since you have "color of title", you shouldn't have any problems. Hopefully the statute of limitations in your state is less than 19 years. You don't actually have to be proactive and declare title to the driveway through adverse possession. That's a bit excessive. It would be much easier to wait for the neighbor to attempt legal action and then hire a lawyer to counter it by claiming an easement based on your established and uncontested use of the property for so many years. Note: the amount of time in which your use of the driveway was "open and notorious" also includes the time in which all the previous owners of your home used the driveway as well. Please let us know how it turns out.

Don't ask us. Get a lawyer to look at it and see the original plans/survey and get advice. May cost a little but better than deciding based on dude's friend or answerbag.

As far as I can tell your neighbor has an imaginary friend. Until you see a paper from a lawyer I would recommend you just smile at the guy and live your life. Anything else happens and you should get a lawyer. It seems really unlikely that this guy can make any claim since your driveway was there when HE bought the property but that's for lawyers to play with.

Time to see the building department at city hall. That's where I'd start.

Time to get a lawyer and check the hall of records. If indeed he is right you have no choice. Just have him do it or do it yourself. But get estimates first and then see the judge and let him decide before you do anything. Since it was there so many years the judge could decide for you to share costs. Do not go to an arbitrator. An arbitrator's decision is binding and they are notorious for poor decisions. You never know how a judge can rule and he'll look at all the laws and past situations. In fact if you could look it up and see what was done in your area in the past and show it to the judge he can make a better ruling. He may not know about those decisions, even if they were 100 years ago. Check the law books. You maybe stuck and maybe not or maybe not for the full cost. But check it out first, your neighbor is probably full of shit. Watch-out for this guy and if you have the money install cameras around your house and start recording activity. I have a feeling this guy is trouble. Protect yourself and nail this guy if he is one of those, know what I mean. You don't need this headache, protect yourself.

Yes, you are right, but it goes back to early frontier days, absentee landlords, etc. It might not fly in your town in California today. Worth checking out, though. Best wishes.

Your neighbor must have a few loose screws. I don't know how things are done in your state, but where I live the purchaser of a home receives at closing a copy of all documents - including a plat of his lot with all property boundaries, fencelines, driveways, sidewalks - maybe more! If I were you, the next time this jerk starts his rant, tell him to look at his copy of the plat. If he refuses, and continues to disturb your peace call your local law enforcement and ask their help. Check into obtaining a peace bond. If all else fails, pay an attorney to write him a letter laying out the facts, and demanding that he cease and desist. And dis he still harasses you, hit him with a lawsuit. Good luck!!!!!

You can contact your own surveyor and have and actual survey done, but then you are paying for that!

He can't "decide" that. That's what "surveys" are for. Just go check your property survey documents.

I have the opposite problem - I just purchased a place and the neighbors have their fence 3 1/2 feet onto my property - giving me no access to that side of my building. It wouldn't be so bad if it were used as an access point... but unfortunately it's used as a play alley ALL THE TIME and LOUD. A fence is certainly going UP ! I'll be damned if they're going to assume 12% of my property - Not gonna' happen.