Who owns the tree?

[Whistler]

If a tree that is on your property falls down and lands on the neighbors property, who's tree is it?  If the owner is where the stump/roots are, can he cut/remove the tree without the adjacent landowners permission or must he first obtain permission to avoid trespassing (as a common courtesy) ? If a neighbors tree falls on your property, must you ask the neighbor for permission to cut it up

[woodmills1]

i don't know about whole trees that fall, but do know that if your neighbors tree offends you over your property line you may smote    no no you may trim it. you should ask first but with no reply you can cut it and bill you neighbor, if you ask and get denied.  Imho if your tree falls on thier property it is yours to be liable for.

[DanG]

According to the insurance laws(here in Fla, at least) any damage caused by the fall of a healthy tree, as in a windstorm, etc, is the responsibility of the land owner upon whose land the aforementioned tree should alight. If the tree is diseased, or dead, then the responsibility belongs to the owner of the roots.
Seems reasonable that the neighbors should shake hands, fire up their Poo-lans, and have a firewood party.

[Ron Scott]

Generally a landowner is entitled to trim both limbs and roots which intrude onto the landowner's property up to the property line.

The law is usually very clear as to what rights an adjoining landowner has when a neighbor's tree limbs or roots hang over or encroach upon the landowner's property. The adjoining property owner has an absolute right to cut those parts of the tree which encroach upon the landowner's property. It is recognized that a landowner owns the ground below and the air above such property, the landowner has a right to protect it.

Also, a landowner can't be negligent in allowing a tree on their property to become a nusiance to a neighboring landowner. The neighbor then has the right to protect their property from the nusiance. The protection must be what a reasonable and prudent person would do however. This is often where the lawsuit gets started.

So why did the tree fall on the neighbors property? Was this an act of God? If so, this adds another element to the situation.

"Tree Law" is a specialized area and laws are different in different States. You should check your state laws regarding such tree situations. You may want to obtain or check the library for the book, "Arboriculture & The Law" by Victor D. Merullo and Michael J. Valentine, two attornys knowledgeable in tree law.