Adverse Possession Question

[Arnold Finkelstein]

I understand all the requirements/rules of Adverse Possession in Alabama, but I'm not entirely clear on the required length of time.  I have inferred that there are two clocks.  Ten years if the party with adverse possession has some color of title and/or has been paying taxes on the parcel, and twenty years if just occupying land.  I have scoured my 3 year old copy of Denise Evans' Alabama Tax Sales, but I'm not seeing it there.

[Denise Evans]

In Alabama:

Adverse Possession (pure squatters) takes 20 years of possession.

Statute of limitations of 10 years requires color of title (a deed, a will, some reason to believe you own the property) plus possession or payment of taxes for ten years.  Boundary line disputes usually fall into this category. Also missing deeds in a chain of title.

Short statute of limitations is after a tax sale and requires a tax deed, possession, and the passage of three years. That is for things like "curing" a void tax sale. The law regarding burning off judicial redemption rights is currently in flux due to some complicated reasons, but historically most judges have thought it took three years of possession post-tax deed to burn off judicial redemption rights, also.