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petitioners claimed was recorded in 1839. Colonel Waples' heirs
apparently abandoned their partial interest in the land. The State
of Delaware subsequently conducted public surveys showing the 1988
gift land as public land. These surveys were recorded in public
records, providing evidence of title for the State. The 1988 gift
land was also considered part of the Delaware Seashore State Park.
Moreover, petitioners never paid real estate taxes on the disputed
land. The existence of pending litigation between petitioner and
the State of Delaware is a further indication that petitioners did
not possess good legal title to the 1988 gift land at the time of
the purported donation.
Petitioners have also not established that they held title to
the 1988 gift land by adverse possession. Delaware law permitting
adverse possession against the State was repealed in 1953. See
Phillips v. State, 449 A.2d 250, 255 (Del. 1982). And nothing in
the record supports a conclusion that petitioners adversely
possessed the 1988 gift land against the State before (or after)
1953.
Second, even assuming petitioners held title to the 1988 gift
land, it does not appear that the State accepted the 1988 deed from
petitioners because it had no knowledge of the deed's recording.
Delivery to and acceptance by the donee of a deed may not be
presumed by mere recording when a deed is not beneficial to the
donee or imposes an obligation on the donee and when the donee does
not know of its existence. Estate of Mortimer v. Commissioner, 17
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