Also known as: fee tail · fee-tail estate · entailed estate · entail
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An estate in land limited to the grantee and the heirs of the grantee's body. The estate arises from a conveyance containing a life estate followed by language directing succession to the grantee's issue upon the life tenant's death.
Frank Fisher conveyed Blackacre to his son Floyd for life with remainder to the heirs of Floyd's body. Floyd took possession and later had a child. The deed language satisfied the requirements for creating an estate descending only through Floyd's lineal issue.
Fiona Foster received a deed stating to her and the heirs of her body. In a jurisdiction retaining the Statute De Donis without modification, the conveyance produced a fee tail estate rather than a fee simple.
Frederick Ferguson held a fee tail in Greenacre. He executed an inter vivos conveyance meeting the state's required formalities for disentailing and transferred full ownership to a buyer.
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Fatima Flores held a fee tail in Whiteacre. She conveyed a life estate to a purchaser. Upon Fatima's death the purchaser's interest ended and the land passed to the next lineal heir under the original limitation.
Floyd Franklin held a fee tail in Blueacre. His will purported to leave the land to a friend. The devise had no effect and the land passed instead to Floyd's surviving lineal heir.
Francois Fortier held a fee tail in Redacre and died survived by a spouse. The spouse's dower claim yielded to a remainder limited after the fee tail under the creating deed.
A conveyance that limits an estate for life and adds further language directing succession to the issue of the life tenant creates the estate. The limitation must specify that the land passes to the grantee's bodily heirs upon the life tenant's death.
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No. The holder lacks power to devise any interest. Upon death the land passes only according to the original limitation to lineal heirs.
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In jurisdictions where the rule applies, an inter vivos conveyance executed with the special formalities required for disentailing transfers full ownership equivalent to fee simple absolute.
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The surviving spouse's interest is subordinate to any remainder limited after the fee tail and to the reversion of the grantor.
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The estate arises in jurisdictions where the Statute De Donis remains in force without statutory or judicial modification that fundamentally alters its operation.
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…the function involved and the fiscal and administrative burdens that the additional or substitute procedural requirement would entail. Id. , at 335. Applying these factors to the present case, we conclude that the procedures established by the Secretary satisfy due process. The private interest that will be affected by…