hi welcome to this edition of talking
trees I'm RJ Laverne with the Davy tree
expert company and today we're going to
explore the fascinating but sometimes
confusing world of trees and the law we
frequently get questions from property
owners wondering what their rights are
when tree branches or tree roots extend
over property lines so to answer that
question let's go take a look at some
trees let's assume that my measuring
stick here is right on the property line
that would mean that this tree is fully
on the property of the Smith does that
mean that the Joneses cannot do anything
to this tree well in this particular
state the law is written so that the
Joneses could remove the branches or the
roots all the way back to the property
line but in a lot of cases it's not
quite that clear-cut if removing the
roots or the branches causes the tree to
become unstable and become a hazard or
if it causes the tree to go into decline
and die then the Joneses have
overstepped their legal rights well
what's the solution then well with good
communication between the Joneses and
the Smiths
maybe there's some flexibility in where
to place the pool or the patio in which
case the tree can be preserved or maybe
the Jones in the Smiths could regret
that the tree could be removed and maybe
the Jones would pay for a new tree to be
planted on the Smith's property the key
there again is good communication
between the property owners and it's
always good advice to bring in a
qualified arborist who can speak to the
health and structural Integrity's of the
tree and provide some creative solutions
next let's look at a unique situation
where the property line goes right
through the base of the tree and what
that means from a legal standpoint in
most states the law
is written so that when a tree straddles
is a property line it means that both
property owners owned this as shared
property what does that mean from a
legal standpoint well that means that
this tree can't be removed or any
significant maintenance done on the tree
without the mutual agreement between the
property owners once again that points
to the importance of having good
communication between neighbors in most
cases legal issues involving trees and
property lines can easily be solved
between neighbors simply when they talk
to one another and in a lot of cases
when they bring in a qualified
professional arborist to give them solid
advice on how to take care of their
trees and look for creative solutions
when there are conflicts well I hope
this discussion of trees and legal
issues has given you some good insight
as to how to handle taking care of your
trees when they're close to property
lines thanks for joining us on this
edition of talking trees I'm RJ Luverne
with the Davy tree expert company join
us next time when we'll talk more about
trees
you