Boundary Disputes in Tennessee

Nashville Boundary Dispute Lawyers

Boundary dispute cases can be some of the most emotional situations we see. You’re not just arguing over a line on a survey—you’re dealing with neighbors, driveways, fences, trees, and land you’ve cared for and believed was yours for years. It’s not unusual for tempers to rise, leading to threats, police calls, and even physical confrontations.

If you’re facing a boundary dispute in Tennessee, you need more than guesswork and heated conversations at the property line. You need clear advice grounded in Tennessee law, proper surveys, and a plan to protect your rights before the situation gets worse. Freeman & Fuson is here to help you do exactly that.

Practice Areas 

Why Boundary Disputes Are So Intense

Boundary disputes are uniquely stressful because they combine:

• Property and financial value
• Long-standing routines (where you mow, park, or garden)
• Pride of ownership
• Ongoing relationships (or confrontations) with neighbors

What starts as a simple question—“Is that fence on my side?”—can escalate quickly, especially when:

• A new survey contradicts what everyone “always thought”
• A new neighbor moves in and challenges an existing fence or driveway
• Someone builds a structure, deck, or shed close to the line
• A shared driveway or access road is blocked

Good legal guidance can de-escalate the situation, get the facts straight, and give you options that don’t involve shouting across the yard.

Common Boundary Disputes We Handle

We represent property owners in a wide range of boundary-related issues, including:

• Fences built on or over the line
• Encroaching driveways, retaining walls, sheds, or additions
• Overlapping legal descriptions in deeds
• Disagreements between older plats and new surveys
• Trees, hedges, or landscaping planted on or near a disputed line
• Claims of “we’ve always used it” or “that’s always been our side”
• Shared driveways and access roads turning into private conflict

Some disputes are strictly about where the legal boundary lies. Others involve adverse possession, prescriptive easements, or long-term use, where someone claims rights over a strip of land or a particular way of using it.

Tennessee’s Statute of Frauds (including T.C.A. § 29-2-101) generally requires that interests in land be in writing, but long-term use and possession can still shape legal rights through doctrines like adverse possession and prescriptive easement.

How Tennessee Law Looks at Boundary Lines

When a boundary dispute arises, Tennessee courts and attorneys typically look to several key sources:

1. Deeds and Legal Descriptions
   Your deed and your neighbor’s deed are the starting point. We review:
2. Metes and bounds descriptions
3. Plats and subdivision maps
4. References to natural landmarks or monuments
5. Recording statutes and property description rules (including those found in Title 66 of the Tennessee Code Annotated, which governs conveyances and recording) often play a role in determining whose description controls.
6. Surveys
   Competing surveys are common. One surveyor may say the fence is on your side; another may say the opposite. We work with surveyors and, when needed, experts to:
7. Understand how the survey was done
8. Compare it to older plats and deeds
9. Explain discrepancies in a way a judge can understand
10. Adverse Possession & Long-Term Use
    In some cases, even if the paper boundary says one thing, long-term open and continuous use can create rights in a strip of land or a driveway. Tennessee’s adverse possession principles—reflected in statutes like T.C.A. § 28-2-101 and T.C.A. § 28-2-103—may bar claims when someone has allowed another to openly use land for many years without objection.
    Courts may also consider doctrines like boundary by acquiescence or agreement, especially where a fence or line has been treated as the boundary for a long time by both sides.
11. Easements & Access Rights
    Some disputes are less about who owns the dirt and more about who has the right to use it—for example, a driveway crossing a neighbor’s land or a shared lane to reach the back of a property. Easements can be:
12. Written (recorded in deeds or separate easement agreements)
13. Implied (based on how the property was historically used)
14. Prescriptive (similar to adverse possession, based on long-term, open use)
15. Tennessee easement law and recording rules under Title 66 often determine whether these rights are enforceable.

Encroachments: Fences, Driveways & Structures

One of the most common boundary problems is encroachment—when a physical object crosses or sits on the line, such as:

• A fence built partially on your land
• A neighbor’s driveway, parking pad, or retaining wall crossing the boundary
• A shed, garage, or deck jutting onto your side
  

Options to address encroachments can include:

• Negotiating a written agreement or easement
• Adjusting the line by written boundary agreement (subject to Statute of Frauds requirements)
• Demanding removal or relocation in serious cases
• Seeking a court order (injunction) to stop new construction and preserve the status quo
• Filing an action to quiet title or for declaratory judgment (under Tennessee’s declaratory judgment statutes, such as T.C.A. § 29-14-101 et seq.) to have a court officially define the boundary

We help you weigh the cost, risk, and neighbor relationship impact of each option.

Keeping Boundary Disputes from Turning Ugly

Because boundary disputes are so personal, it’s easy for them to spiral.

Practical steps to protect yourself include:

We can communicate with your neighbor or their lawyer on your behalf, taking the emotion out of the conversation and focusing on solutions.

How Freeman & Fuson Handles Boundary Disputes

Our approach typically includes:

Our goal isn’t just to “win a line on a map”—it’s to provide a long-term solution that prevents the dispute from resurfacing years down the road.