If the tree has the potential for falling due to disease, have a certified arborist give you an assessment report, and then send it to your neighbor via certified letter. Explain that you are giving her notice of a dangerous tree in case there is subsequent damage to your roof, and that you wanted to document it for insurance purposes. In my area, unless you do this, your insurance company is the one that will end up paying a claim, even though it's a tree you have little control over. This action might get her motivated to remove it.

Thank you all. We are waiting for a call back from our insurance company to know how to proceed. An arborist assessment is probably the best bet because there are a few other trees that make me nervous.

Any thoughts about a stronger roof?

No kind of roof would withstand large branches falling without some damages.

Someone I know had neighbors with two very very large elm trees that branched over their home. One day a branch about 18" in diameter x 20 feet long at least, fell off and hit the owner of trees driveway. There was no wind, no storm, it just fell.

After that the people I know became concerned because numerous branches were over their home and bedrooms. They would have their home destroyed or they would be seriously injured or killed if they fell on home. The people I know called their insurance to ask. They were advised to send letter (from attorney preferably) certified to tell tree owners to take down trees since they were obviously compromised. ( These were otherwise healthy looking trees)

Since the tree owners were now on notice that they would be liable for the dangerous trees they were forced to remove them. It was not an inexpensive endeavor and both neighbors chipped in to remove the trees because they were long time neighbors and friends. It was at minimum $6,000 to remove the 2 trees, insurance did not pay for it.

It was a bit more complicated but that's the basic story.

I wasn't there, and didn't see the exact situation, but if my neighbors sent me a letter like that, I'd have the branches allegedly threatening their house removed. It's hard for me to imagine having to remove healthy trees entirely.

That said, there may be other reasons. For example, France has a law stating that you're not allowed to have trees that will grow to more than 2 meters high less than 2 meters from your property line. That's so that you don't shade your neighbor's property from the sun. I think that some other European nations have similar laws.

Hearing your stories, speaking with our neighbor, insurance company, and others is quite educational. To begin with, when we moved into the house 7 years ago, I marveled at the beauty of that old beech tree. The more I marveled, the longer and deeper I looked at it. It sets at the top edge of a 20ft creek bank. The roots on the creek side are severely exposed and the tree has started to lean inland. There are broken limbs and critter hollows.

It is located at a far corner of tge neighbors yard, so he would be less aware of its condition. When he saw it from our yard, he was in denial about its condition. And tge way he manages the small woodlot between our homes which had a variety of young and older trees - older trees covered with vines. Before he recently cleared out the younger trees, we discussed woodlot management. His response revolved around affordability . Thus he did what he could manage, cleared practically all small trees which seems unstabling to me.

This is the second time in 3, maybe 4 years that the shed roof was damaged by fallen limbs. We certainly don't wast to cause strife but we do need to protect our propery. The insurance company instructed us to contact the township. I looked at the ordinance online which concerns only public sidewalks and roadways. My next hope is a schlew of photographs and an arborist assessment.

So, we had an opportunity to talk with our neighbor. We live along a creek. He thinks the dying birch tree is outside of his property line. We'll probably just have the overhanging limbs taken offf.