black-big.pngRCW 7.28.083 officially became effective today, Sunday July 1, 2012. Effectively the new law of adverse possession became effective at the close of business of Washington’s Superior Courts on Friday.

What’s in store? I have done my best to anticipate how the changes will effect the practice of boundary dispute law in Washington. It is my hope that the law will allow people more opportunity to step back and lift the synaptic energy out of their “fight or flight” limbic system up to their “reasoning” frontal lobes.

In other words, hopefully the potential for a doubling of their losses will allow everyone to work reasonably to sort out, avert, and reduce (instead of aggravate) problems.

However, it is entirely possible that people will dive deeper into their bunkers and will swing even harder at their neighbors. 

If the latter, will they do this primarily through the use of a lawyer, who hopefully will keep them at least somewhat in check, or by “self-help” (i.e. they take it into their own hands to knock down the fence, pull out the garden, rip up the lawn, salt the earth … ).

We simply do not know the answer … it might be both!black-small.png