Lot line disputes often begin with something ordinary: a fence, driveway, retaining wall, landscaping, shed, addition, or other improvement that does not match the boundary line shown on a survey or deed. What starts as a neighbor-to-neighbor disagreement can quickly become a title, ownership, and litigation issue. A recent New Jersey Appellate Division decision, Heller v. Disylvestro, No. A-0009-25 (N.J. App. Div. 2026), is a useful reminder that resolving a boundary dispute requires more than simply comparing competing survey maps.

In Heller, the plaintiffs purchased their property in 2004 with an existing rear fence that appeared on the survey they received at closing. Years later, after the defendants purchased the adjoining property in 2017, later surveys showed that the plaintiffs’ rear fence extended approximately eight feet onto the defendants’ property. The defendants removed the existing fence and installed a new one farther into the disputed area, consistent with the boundary line reflected on their survey. The plaintiffs then filed a quiet title action, asking the court to determine ownership of the disputed strip of land.

The trial court ruled in the plaintiffs’ favor based on adverse possession, and the Appellate Division affirmed. In New Jersey, adverse possession generally requires proof that the possession was actual, open and notorious, continuous, hostile, and exclusive for the required statutory period. For certain lands, that period is at least thirty years under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-30. In Heller, the longstanding fence mattered because it was visible, fixed, and tied to the parties’ historical use of the property over time.

The decision illustrates an important practical point: a deed or survey is highly significant, but it may not end the inquiry. Courts may also consider long-standing physical boundaries, visible improvements, the history of possession, neighbor conduct, and the way the disputed area was actually used. At the same time, a fence alone does not automatically establish ownership. These cases are fact-sensitive, and the strength of the claim often depends on assembling the right evidence early, including current and historic surveys, deeds, title records, photographs, municipal permits, physical markers, correspondence with neighbors, and proof of how the disputed land has been maintained or used over time.