Possession is the best title where no better title appears.

Explanation

Actual possession establishes a presumptive right that prevails against all the world except a claimant with superior title.

Where this applies

• A man has been living in and maintaining a cabin in the woods for twenty years, and a stranger appears claiming ownership but cannot produce a deed, survey, or any documentation — the man's actual possession is the best title when no one else can show a superior claim.
• Two neighbors dispute ownership of a narrow strip of land between their properties, and neither can find a recorded deed that clearly includes it — the neighbor who has been mowing, fencing, and using that strip for years holds the stronger claim through possession.
• A woman buys a used car at a yard sale and drives it for five years, then someone claims it was once stolen — if the claimant cannot produce title or proof of prior ownership, the woman's possession stands as the best available title.

See also

• 5.1.6 It is not incumbent on the possessor to prove that the possessions belong to him.
• 5.1.7 When the parties are equal in right, the condition of the possessor is the better.