Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Indiana

Re: Property Line

The answer is no-they cannot force your mom to pay for half the cost. They probably need a permit as well.

Are you sure these trees are on their side of the line? It might be worth having a new survey done-if your mom has the old one it might not cost much to ahve it recertified. Then if the trees extend on to your property you could have them cut down. You also have the right to trim or prune the trees if they extend on to your mom's property.

I would recommend a meeting with the neighbor to try to work things out before you start a legal fight

Re: Property Line

Your mother's bad neighber is wrong about the law concerning privacy or other fences on residential property. She has no obligation to help pay for the neighbor's fence, and if the fence is on her property, she can tear it down. (There is a law concerning fencing agricultural land, which requires one farmer to fence one side of the property (eg. the north side) and the other farmer to fence the other side (first farmer's south side; but in effect everyone on that line would be fencing their north side.) Consider a revised or new survey, then confront the rude barbarian with the facts. If the trees on planted on the property line, your mother may be able to destroy them. But get the survey first, then confront the miserable neighbor.