Your neighbor’s tree hangs over your house. Can you cut it?

My wife climbed 30 feet up a ladder with a chainsaw. I held the ladder.

I know what that says about me. Let me explain.

We have a huge elm tree in our backyard. It has to be at least as old as our house, which was built in 1946. Its canopy hangs perfectly over our deck and patio. You don’t see many elms around anymore, and we love that tree.

Years ago, we noticed one big limb was about to reach over our next-door neighbor’s house. Being good neighbors meant dealing with it. Being about 30 years younger, and frugal, meant doing it ourselves instead of paying a tree surgeon.

My wife is much more confident on a ladder than I am. So up she went, chainsaw in hand, while I held the ladder at the bottom.

Our neighbor, a nice man named Mr. Carney, came out to watch. I’m still not sure what he was watching for. Maybe he wanted to make sure we didn't drop that limb on his roof. More likely, he was enjoying the show.

Little by little, she cut. Little by little, the limb came down, until the last piece landed on our fence and wiped out a post. Looking back, it could have kicked back and hit my wife or the ladder. The job got done. The fence post didn’t make it.

Mr. Carney passed away years ago. I still wonder if he was entertained or terrified by his crazy young neighbors.

These days, we hire professionals to care for the old elm. And our feeling hasn’t changed: If our tree hangs over a neighbor’s house, that’s on us.

Not every neighbor sees it that way. So what does New Jersey law say?

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The elm reaches toward the house next door, which is why we keep it trimmed. | Eric ‘EJ’ Johnson / Townsquare Media

You can trim up to the property line

If your neighbor’s branches hang over your yard, you can generally cut them back to the property line, as long as you don’t harm or kill the tree. That rule goes back to New Jersey court decisions from 1911 and 1927, according to Bergmann Law. The same goes for roots.

Stay on your side, though. The tree belongs to whoever owns the land where the trunk sits. You can’t go onto your neighbor’s property, or take the tree down, without permission.

And don’t expect your neighbor to pick up the bill for trimming you decided to do.

Who pays when it comes down

If a healthy tree or limb from next door falls on your property in a storm, the damage is generally yours to cover, usually through your own homeowners insurance, the Asbury Park Press reported.

It’s a different story if the tree was dead or rotting. Then your neighbor could be on the hook for failing to take care of it.

New Jersey courts have also drawn a line between trees that grew naturally and trees an owner planted or cared for. In a 2016 case, a state appeals court ruled a homeowner wasn’t liable for damage from the roots of trees that grew there on their own, the Lindabury law firm noted.

Talk first, then cut

Before anyone grabs a chainsaw, knock on the door. Point out the limb. Offer to split the cost of a pro. Many towns also require a permit to take down a tree, so check with yours before anything bigger than a trim.

I’m not a lawyer, so if you’re in a real fight with a neighbor, talk to one.

And if the branch is 30 feet up? Hire someone. Our fence post would agree.