Quote:
Originally Posted by Papa_Complex
My mistake on terminology. In checking it appears that, where homestead law used to be something that permitted settlement of untenanted land, it now involves putting a stop to forced sale in order to satisfy debts when one spouse dies. Interesting.
I was thinking about all of those open tracts of land in places like Montana and Arizona where old settlement laws may still be in force, that would see people losing land that might have been in their families for generations.
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Homesteaders laws usually don't apply if the land is already privately owned. Adverse possession laws enable privately owned land to transfer, but require a longer "possession" period. The large tracts you speak of could transfer, but it would require someone continuously using a large portion of the land for a long time. Someone couldn't just come in, put a small shed in one corner to live in, and take the whole lot. It isn't particularly easy to take hundreds or thousands of acres.