Also known as:break of entail · broke entail · breaking an entail · breaks entail · barring the entail · disentailing
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An inter vivos conveyance executed by a tenant in fee tail that complies with statutory formalities and thereby converts the estate into a fee simple absolute. The conveyance cuts off all future interests that depended on the entail.
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How it applies
Common Examples
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Disentailing Deed to College
Belinda Baxter inherited a mansion under her grandfather's will in the words 'to Belinda and the heirs of her body.' State law still recognizes fee tails and allows their destruction by a special disentailing deed. Belinda executed and recorded the required disentailing deed, then conveyed the mansion by ordinary warranty deed to Beacon Bank. After Belinda died, her child sued the bank to quiet title. The bank holds fee simple absolute because the disentailing deed enlarged Belinda's estate before the later conveyance.
Future Interest After Barring
Bobby Brady held a fee tail created by his aunt's deed. He executed a valid disentailing conveyance that barred the entail and passed a fee simple to Brighton Manufacturing. A remote remainderman who held an interest subsequent to the fee tail then sued to recover possession years later. The statutory period for the remainderman's action began to run only after the disentailing conveyance converted the future interest into a present one.
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Practice Questions5
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Restatements
Dictionaries
Common questions
Frequently Asked
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What formalities must a tenant in fee tail satisfy to break the entail?+
The tenant must execute an otherwise effective inter vivos conveyance that conforms to the special statutory formalities prescribed by state law for a disentailing conveyance. Ordinary deed language that fails to follow those formalities leaves the fee tail intact.
Does a proper disentailing conveyance allow the tenant to grant easements or leases that bind future heirs?+
No. Interests created by a tenant in fee tail before disentailment remain effective only while the fee tail continues. Once the entail ends, the succeeding heirs take free of those interests unless they independently bound themselves.
What happens if a fee tail holder conveys without using the required disentailing form?+
The conveyance passes no greater estate than the tenant could alienate without breaking the entail. The fee tail survives, and the issue in tail succeed to the land upon the tenant's death.
Can a tenant in fee tail convey a fee simple subject to use restrictions after proper disentailment?+
Yes. Once the special formalities are satisfied, the tenant possesses the same power as a fee simple owner to create any interest, including a fee simple subject to perpetual conservation or other restrictions.
Real PropertyOwnership of real property · CotenancyNEXTGENFoundational