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This is a matter of state law. We suggest you consult your state government for specifics. That said, most of the case studies we found assert your right to cut a neighbor's tree if it encroaches on your property. Thanks to June Watanabe's excellent and exhaustive Star Bulletin column, we know the law in Hawaii: "A landowner may always, at his own expense, cut away only to his property line above or below the surface of the ground any part of the adjoining owner's trees or other plant life." In California, you also have pruning rights, so long as the neighbor's tree isn't permanently damaged
as a result. However, you can only prune up to your property line, and at your own expense. You may want to consult a book called "Neighbor Law: Fences, Trees, Boundaries, and Noise" by Cora Jordan, attorney at law. However, it's always best to try to settle these issues amicably with your neighbor. Police will rarely intervene in a tree branch feud since they don't consider it a criminal matter.
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