Also known as: fee-simple · fees simple · fee simples · fee simple absolute
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An estate in land of potentially infinite duration that passes by inheritance to the owner's heirs upon death. The estate confers full rights of possession, use, and alienation subject only to general legal limits such as zoning or eminent domain.
Finn Fletcher conveys Blackacre to Forrest Falconer and his heirs so long as the land remains used for farming. When Falconer later converts the parcel to a commercial warehouse, the special limitation ends the estate and title shifts automatically to the designated successor. Falconer therefore loses the fee simple interest he initially received.
Lucas holds two beachfront parcels in fee simple. A state statute bars all development on the lots, eliminating their economic value. The Supreme Court holds that the total deprivation of use constitutes a taking of Lucas's fee simple interest.
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Roy Smith claims an interest in farmland after an oral arrangement with his brother. He testifies that he used the land exactly as if it were his own in fee simple terms. The court recognizes that Roy treated the parcel as a fee simple interest despite the lack of a recorded deed.
Heirs hold small undivided interests in allotted land originally conveyed in fee simple. A federal statute mandates escheat of fractional interests upon death. The Supreme Court examines whether the statute unconstitutionally burdens the fee simple ownership rights of the heirs.
Homeowners hold their residences in fee simple. The city condemns the parcels for transfer to a private developer under an economic-development plan. The Supreme Court upholds the taking because the public purpose justifies acquisition of the fee simple titles.
A city holds land in fee simple under a trust requiring racial segregation. After a court invalidates the racial restriction, the trust terminates and the property reverts to the settlor's heirs. The Supreme Court confirms that the fee simple interest returns to the heirs rather than remaining with the city.
Modern statutes and presumptions allow a fee simple to pass even without the words 'and his heirs.' A conveyance that lacks any words of limitation or duration is presumed to transfer a fee simple absolute unless the instrument clearly shows a contrary intent.
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A fee simple lasts potentially forever and passes to heirs, while a life estate ends at the death of the measuring life and cannot be inherited beyond that point. The duration of the fee simple is not tied to any human life.
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Yes. A fee simple may be made defeasible by a special limitation, condition subsequent, or executory limitation. When the stated event occurs the estate ends or shifts to another person.
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Yes. Ownership in fee simple includes the right to possess, use, exclude others, and transfer the land, subject only to general legal restrictions such as zoning or eminent domain.
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…of) value. In any event, we avoid this difficulty in the present case, since the "interest in land" that Lucas has pleaded (a fee simple interest) is an estate with a rich tradition of protection at common law, and since the South Carolina Court of Common Pleas found that the Beachfront Management Act left each of Lucas's…