As I've posted about a couple of times this week, I'm currently on vacation, but I got a call from our back-door neighbor earlier this evening telling me that our next-door neighbor lost a huge oak tree along the fence between our properties during the storms in Richmond this afternoon, and it uprooted part of my back yard and privacy fence. I'm kicking myself, because this tree has been leaning since we moved into our house in 2006, but I recently noticed that it seemed to be starting to upheave on our side of the fence (opposite from the direction it was leaning). Not even two weeks ago I told my wife that I needed to contact the neighbor's landlord (in writing, for documentation purposes) to let them know that the tree seemed to be leaning more and more and that it seemed like a hazard to fall down. As usual, life got in the way (I almost had to skip my vacation because I am so under water at work), and I never contacted the landlord. So now, as I understand VA insurance law, my insurance agency will have to cover the damage to my property, or I will just repair it myself/out of my own my pocket. Based on the photos I received from the neighbor who called me, it looks like probably $400 of materials or less if I do the repair myself, so that's probably what I'll do (finding the time is the real problem). But my question is this - currently part of the root ball is on my side of the fence/on my property. Is the adjacent property owner responsible for removing the root ball from my property when they have the tree cut up? Or am I likely to come home and find the trunk cut off exactly at the property line, with everything on my side of the fence left for me to clean up? TIA