With the recent high winds in Boise and the subsequent falling of many trees and tree limbs, I’ve been looking at the law related to tree ownership and rights of neighbors regarding trees. Ownership: If you own land, and a tree’s trunk is entirely on your land, then you own that tree, too. The key is the trunk — not the canopy or roots. Even if most of the canopy or roots extend off your land, the tree is still yours. Where the tree straddles a boundary line, it becomes the shared ...
Backyard Fire Pit Worries
I was talking to a friend today about her concern over her choice of paving materials for a new patio/fire pit she’s building in her backyard. (She recently bought her first house, and she’s got big plans!) She’s thinking cobblestones, but she’s worried about the surface being uneven, causing chairs to be unstable on the patio. So I figured I would write about liability issues for property owners. Idaho law establishes three categories of visitor to your land. An “invitee” is someone ...
