Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Massachusetts

Re: Tree on boundary line

I have to answer a question with a question, so to speak.

Are these properties in rural or urban areas (city or country)?

Is the area farm, forest, commercial, or residential?

I'll assume this is your property. Is the tree rotting? Do any branches hang over to your property?

Are any branches posing any danger of falling onto the other

your property and causing any damage to a building, car, or hapless person?

Does the tree block sunlight or are the roots presenting a problem?

What's the motivation for removing it? Who wants it removed? Does the other party

object, or just doesn't want to spend his money?

To answer where the law is, I'd have to give away the secrets learned in years of law school ...

but seriously the truth is that there's no easy answer to that question. For many legal questions

I just email someone a copy of the applicable statute, but there isn't going to be one. Instead,

there are dozens of cases to sift through with a range of answers depending on lots of specific

facts and circumstances, I believe, although a few general principles have emerged.

What city or town are you in ?