Neighbor told me that I have a dead tree and wants it cut down

[Anonymous]

Its an awkward situation. Some tree guy says its dead does not mean it is. You could give permission to the neighbor to cut it down. The tree has to be very obviously DEAD for you to be responsible.

[Anonymous]

If your neighbor submits a complaint to the County and the County finds that in fact the tree is dead, the County will order you to remove the tree within a certain amount of time (normally 30 days).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Now that you have notice, you will be responsible if it does any damage, so I would get it taken down.

Yes, this is right. You are liable.
We had a tree limb fall on a child at our community playground and it was a terrible thing.
Not only are you supposed to take down dead trees but also you're supposed to trim dead limbs as those will fall too.

Since he's given you notice it proves that you were well aware of the situation and chose to ignore it.

If you live way out in the woods and your dead trees could just fall over and Roy without hurting anyone that would be one thing.
If they can fall into a neighbor's yard you have to take care of all of them.

[Anonymous]

Your neighbor is giving you a courtesy by telling you the tree is dead and you "might want to remove it." What they are saying is that they are putting you on notice in a very nice way. They wouldn't have gotten the estimate for you already if that wasn't their intention.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your neighbor submits a complaint to the County and the County finds that in fact the tree is dead, the County will order you to remove the tree within a certain amount of time (normally 30 days).

Which county are you talking about? Not all counties function the same.

[Anonymous]

If this tree is way back out in the yard and not near any homes and is just going to fall in the woods then OP does not need to take it down. Good grief.

[Anonymous]

Call a few tree companies. Most give free estimates. If it is not close to his home or property it is your choice to remove it. Healthy trees can fall too. He seems like he wants a group discount. He had no right to be on your property or give the tree folks permission.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If this tree is way back out in the yard and not near any homes and is just going to fall in the woods then OP does not need to take it down. Good grief.

Yeah, and interesting what the law might be if some kids are on her property searching for a ball or whatever and something falls in them.

Don't live near other humans if you can't be respondible.

We have property that's big enough that you can just ignore rotting trees, but if you don't you don't. Take care of it.

[Anonymous]

So you own a home and are expecting a kid but something like dead tree removal is financially impossible for you. Solid planning.

[Anonymous]

Call an arborist to get their opinion, usually they come for free.

A dead tree is much more likely to fall.
You don't want to injure or kill someone with your tree, OP.
You also don't want your tree falling on someone's house.

Cutting down a tree can cost thousands of dollars. Pruning is much cheaper, and if the tree is not entirely dead the solution could be to trim it way down so that it has less wind exposure and more stability. This is what we did with our HUGE maple in our yard, which was not healthy but still salvageable. It has resisted all recent windstorms and tropical gales.

[Anonymous]

If you don't have money for it, I wouldn't worry about it. People are just trying to scare you into taking it down without any legal basis. Your neighbor is not a county official. His "notice" is not a legal one. You don't have to take it down if you don't want to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your neighbor submits a complaint to the County and the County finds that in fact the tree is dead, the County will order you to remove the tree within a certain amount of time (normally 30 days).

Which county are you talking about? Not all counties function the same.

Montgomery County

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you don't have money for it, I wouldn't worry about it. People are just trying to scare you into taking it down without any legal basis. Your neighbor is not a county official. His "notice" is not a legal one. You don't have to take it down if you don't want to.

Ha. That's not how this works. Here is what could happen: tree falls and damages something or injures someone. OP claims no knowledge. Neighbor says bs. I told you that it was dead and you did nothing. Neighbor submits evidence from arborist. OP is screwed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you don't have money for it, I wouldn't worry about it. People are just trying to scare you into taking it down without any legal basis. Your neighbor is not a county official. His "notice" is not a legal one. You don't have to take it down if you don't want to.

If the neighbor sends a copy of the arborist's report by registered mail, would that be sufficient to establish OP's negligence if the tree does fall and damage something?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you don't have money for it, I wouldn't worry about it. People are just trying to scare you into taking it down without any legal basis. Your neighbor is not a county official. His "notice" is not a legal one. You don't have to take it down if you don't want to.

Clearly she's gonna pull the pregnancy card and do jack shit about it but it doesn't mean it's not her problem. A nice line of strong summer storms comes through and pulls the tree down into her neighbor's yard, after he got documentation it's dead and issued a warning about it, she's going to be on the hook for removal and damage to his property.