LouB wrote:
Joe wrote:
My neighbor has had a dead tree in the back of his property for about
a year, last night the wind finally broke the trunk and it fell a
little toward my yard but was stopped by a large oak tree on my
property. I'm worried that it might break apart and fall when my
children are playing in the yard. I need this tree to come down and
I'm worried that my neighbor won't do it. They have a habit of only
doing the kind of maintenance that is absolutely necessary. How do I
approach them to make sure they take care of this problem? I'm on
good terms with this neighbor and I'd like to take care of this in
the most tactful way possible but I get the feeling they are going
to tell me that if I want the tree down I'm going to have to pay for
it myself.

first just ask nicely.
You might gently point out that his insurance company will not pay for
any damages cause he could have fixed the problem.

A spin on this is "My insurance will pay for damage to my property, but then
they will sue you to recover their expense."

As a LEGAL principle, the neighbor is responsible for all damage something
on his property causes on another (excepting acts of God like a lightning
strike or armed rebellion).

He's already proven he's not a "good neighbor" by letting the situation
reach the imminent peril stage.