Also known as: fee tail · estates in fee tail · fee-tail estate · entail · fee tail estate
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An estate in land limited to a designated grantee and the heirs of that grantee's body. The limitation restricts succession to lineal descendants and prevents the tenant from devising the land or alienating it in a manner that defeats the remainderman's interest.
Emily Ellis conveyed Blackacre to her son Ethan Evans for life, then to the heirs of Ethan's body. Under the governing statute, the deed created a fee tail in Ethan. When Ethan later died without qualifying issue, the alternative limitation in favor of a designated third party became possessory.
Elise Everly received a conveyance of Greenacre in a jurisdiction that still enforces the Statute De Donis without modification. The deed language created an estate in fee tail in Elise. Her creditors could reach only those interests she possessed the power to transfer during her lifetime.
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Emmett Egan held Greenacre in fee tail. He executed an inter vivos conveyance that satisfied the state's required formalities for a disentailing deed and transferred the land to a purchaser in fee simple. The purchaser took an indefeasible estate because the conveyance complied with the statutory requirements.
Eva Espinosa held Whiteacre in fee tail. She conveyed a life estate to a buyer without using the special disentailing formalities required by her state. Upon Eva's death the buyer lost possession when the persons entitled under the original limitation asserted their rights.
Elliot Edmonds held Blueacre in fee tail. His will purported to devise the land to his spouse. The attempted devise failed because a tenant in tail lacks power to pass any interest by will, and the land descended according to the terms of the original limitation.
Everest Holdings held Brownacre in fee tail. Upon the death of its principal, the surviving spouse claimed dower. The claim was subordinate to the remainder limited upon the fee tail estate, so the remainderman took possession free of the dower interest.
A statute may preserve the fee tail form only to identify the first donee in tail while immediately vesting a fee simple absolute in that person's issue. The first taker therefore receives only a life estate, and the issue take the fee simple from the time of the original conveyance.
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The alternative executory interest becomes possessory if the condition of dying without such heirs is satisfied. A posthumously conceived child recognized as issue of the tenant satisfies the class and defeats the executory interest.
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No. The tenant lacks power to devise any interest, so a purported testamentary disposition is ineffective and the land passes according to the original limitation.
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