Bob F wrote:
HeyBub wrote:
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).

Where I live, trees falling are generally the recipients problem
legally. An "Act of god".

If hit by lightning or high wind, sure. In this case, however, the tree is
an obvious, manifest hazard that is solely under the control of the
neighbor. If it falls and kills a neighbor, a case can be made for
manslaughter.

A leaning dead tree is no different in kind from a leaning, unsecured
scaffold.