Legal Question in Real Estate Law in North Carolina

What you should do is stop "asking". Write a letter to the neighbor and ask her in the letter to consider trimming the trees to avoid any possible damage to either of your homes. If you can do this without trespassing on her property, get a look at the trees and see if they are diseased in any way. If they are, then take pictures and include a statement in your letter that the trees are diseased and that you are putting her on notice to remove the tree or else you will hold her responsible for any damage.

Then you wait. If the trees are encroaching on your property, you can exercise self help and trim only the part that is encroaching on your property. In such case, you might want to include in your letter a statement that if your neighbor does not trim the trees then you will trim that portion which is encroaching on your side.

If you do this, make sure that you do not have your guy in any way trespass on your neighbor's property when you trim. If no branches encroach then there is nothing you can do. If the roots are on her side and the tree damages your property, then it is the responsiblity of your insurer to pay for any damage unless the tree was diseased and fell over because it was rotten and your neighbor had notice of it. That is why you should send the letter to give her notice.