In many suburban cases, a lawn is a homeowner’s pride and joy. They seed it, mow it, water it and strive to be the greenest on the block. Lawn and landscaping care has become so important, in fact, that there is a special type of counsel available: tree lawyers. They deal with anything tree-related from blocked views to branch-caused fatalities, not to mention the dreaded wrongful cutting of a prized holly. The horror!
For instance, ownership of a tree is decided by whose property the trunk is on. However, if the tiniest bit of the trunk crosses the property line between neighbors, that tree is jointly owned.
Then there’s the feared chop of a tree, which tends to bust neighbors’ chops. In most states, residents can cut branches off of a tree up to the boundary line if the branch lands on their property. And if your pruning kills the tree? Well, courts will look to see whether your chopping of branches or roots was “reasonable.”
And just when the city folk thought they were spared, United States tree law has a rule for urban areas, which is that every tree in an urban area must be inspected and maintained by its owner.
So in the ever appropriate nutshell, for the sake of your neighbors and legal liability, know your tree laws please, so you don’t get stumped.
The Daily Wiehl is where Lis shares some of her thoughts on the day’s news or anything else that grabs her interest. You can also follow her podcast, Wiehl of Justice, on FoxNews Radio.