Your property is YOUR PROPERTY right ?

Just want some opinions..

We're putting in a new fence... The neighbors bushes are WAY TOO full and they are weighing down our current fence, and add the fact that it's an old fence, its currently on a slope, being pushed down from the huge bushes next door...

Now keep in mind about the neighbors...
-We've been told that in the 70's they owned this whole block, and then some. They sold it in lots as the years passed...(so this makes me think they will be a bit 'territorial' about this issue.
-We've never met them in the 2 years that we've been here. The couple that sold us the house told us that they COULDNT WAIT TO MEET US yeah right...
--Their lawn is immaculate Spring and Summer. They are one of those homes that spend more on their landscaping than we do on our mortgage. (But we heard through the grapevine that they 'barter' and have lots of connections-more power to them...
--The couple that sold us the house told us that they once had a 'little' problem when they had to trim those bushes. The neighbors freaked out and told them not to dare touch them...

So this in mind.

We KNOW that we will have to shave their bushes when we put in our new fence.

John said to the fence guy, 'we can just move the fence over a few inches' (pushover! ANYTHING not to start a confrontation! We're SOO OPPOSITE ! ) and the fence guy said 'ARE YOU KIDDING ME ???? THATS YOUR PROPERTY !!!' So thank Goodness this guy knocked sense into him and we WILL shave their bushes, but we will let them know...

So now what kind of rights do we have here ? This is our property, and these bushes are just bushes, its not like we're cutting a rose bush in half or destroying a vegetable garden....

Advice ? Im kinda nervous about whats gonna come of it. and I hope its a smooth transition...

go to your city clerks office and get a blue print of your property and your property lines this way you can go to nasty neighbors and tell them HA this is our property and like it or not your bushes are getting shaved

If a tree from there yard falls on your car its their responsibility to remove the tree and pay for damages. If a bush is on your property and you kindly go to them asking them to do something and they dont you have all rights (technically you dont even have to go to them) to remove it from your part.

FI and I own land in FL and we did research on lands and the laws. (like did you know that if you own land you own it to the center of the earth. So if you are out digging and strike oil 20 feet below, its yours)

Anna you should really check the laws in whichever township you live in. I know that certain towns allow you to trim anything that hangs over your property line without any notice to the neighbor, while others require you to notify the property owner beforehand. You never know what your neighbors are really like until you have an issue like this. Best of luck with this.