Ask the Law Guy

Ask the Law Guy

Have you got a question about:

The law?
The legal system?
A legal problem?

E-mail it to me and I'll pick the most interesting to answer here.

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I appreciate the GOOD advice. I plan to call my probate attorney to followup.

Our neighbor has a huge beautiful old pine tree that sits 5’ into his property. The limbs from this tree hang on and rub the roof of our house. Our main concern, is that the limbs are going to damage our roof over time but we also see older branches that should probably be removed before they fall.

We approached the neighbor to ask if he might trim the tree. He said he wouldn’t but we could do all we’d like. This tree needs a LOT of trimming and it requires ladders and equipment we don’t have. We’d like to approach him again to ask if he’d split the cost of trimming the tree, but before we do that, the answer to this question will possibly be helpful to the conversation…

Is he liable for damages to our roof caused by repeated scraping and rubbing of limbs from the tree in his yard?

I think this falls under the general rule that you can remove any limbs at the point they cross over the property line to your side, but you will have to do that at your expense, unless your neighbor agrees to divide the cost with you.

If a landowner has an unsound tree on his property, and he is aware of it, but does not remove it and it later damages neighboring property the landowner can be sued to recover the cost of repairs to the neighboring property. Healthy trees are not considered hazards, even though they sometimes fall.

I have a farm that some parts are open to the public and other parts are closed to any visitors. I now have to consider putting up no trespassing signs on my property to protect myself from illegal poaching and digging of my medicinal herbs as well as people entering parts of my property that are off limits to my farm.
I was wondering if there was any difference between signs that say " Posted, No Trespassing" and those that simply say "No Trespassing". Does Posted mean something is posted in the paper or some other means?

I couldn't find any laws that distinguished between signs that said "no trespassing" and "posted" signs. In North Carolina, an owner posting signs should make sure they are at least 120 square inches, posted at each corner of the property and and not less than 200 yards apart.

First degree-trespass occurs when a person without authorization enters or remains on the property of another where the premises has been "enclosed or secured" in a manner that shows an intent to keep out intruders.

Second degree trespass occurs when a person enters or remains on a premises that is "posted in a manner reasonably likely to come to the intention of intruders" notices not to enter.

Important fine print

The owner/operator of this website is Bryan Gates, an attorney in Winston-Salem, N.C. E-mailing a question to a website (even a cleverly designed website) is no substitute for live, in-person contact with an attorney if you have a legal problem. In order to avoid legal troubles of my own, I cannot answer questions about the laws of states other than North Carolina. For more information about The Law Guy, check out:

www.attorneygates.com

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