Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Georgia

Your options are limited. Unless they agree to remove the tree, generally you can't do anything until you actually suffer damage. The pushing the fence over MAY constitute that damage, but a suit would likely cost far more than the potential damage. (The spiky balls are not grounds for removal).

You have no claim against the neighbor even if the tree grows enough to damage your fence, storage building, or anything else. It is a tree - it grows. You also have no independent right to "demand" the tree be cut down, or cut it down yourself. The neighbor has at least as much right to the tree as you (if not more, since you don't even mention how the property line factors in). If you do something on your own, be ready to pay.

You have zero options as far as leaves, seeds, sap, or anything else that falls or blows into your yard. That is part of choosing a neighborhood that has trees and plants. The remedy for that is to purchase enough land around your house so you can remove all trees around the house, or live in a townhouse/condo.

Neighbor disputes rank up there with family disputes as among the worst things you can get into. You'll be dealing with the every day, and rest assured they can find something to complain about your property. If you want to make sure it turns nasty quick, meet them with your list of demands. If you want to handle it correctly, meet them, be nice, and very politely walk over to the tree and discuss it. Who knows, maybe they don't like the tree. That is not very likely, as most people enjoy trees and they add value to property. You will do not good in raising the "nuisance" of leaves, etc. (unless they do).

In the end, weigh the cost of altering your fence and storage building with the expense (financially and otherwise) of the issues above.

I respectfully disagree with Mr. Riddle. See, for example, "Falling Tree Liability in Georgia" article published in the October 2004 issue of the Georgia Bar Journal.

(http://www.gabar.org/public/pdf/gbj/oct04.pdf at page 12)[and despite its title, it is not limited to falling trees, but addresses many different issues involving GA law and trees]. A few years have passed since its publication so the caselaw has probably developed since that time, but my very informal hunch is that it remains fairly accurate for most of the general principles cited therein.

I do, however, generally agree with the other attorneys' responses to the extent they state or imply that such matters can be very complicated, costly and, like most areas of law, is very subjective and thus difficult to predict an outcome. But if it is genuinely a situation you believe justifies the cost of retaining an attorney, by all means, please feel free to contact me.

Read the article for your own information. However, you mention nothing about a falling tree, or damaged tree, and nothing in the article changes my comments. You have a shared tree that is presumably healthy and growing. Quite obviously, understanding and identifying the issues is quite important in resolving this and any potential dispute, quickly and less expensively.