Estates in Land

1
Estates in Land Future Interests

• Unit 5 The Fee Tail
• 2009 edition

2
Fee Tail The Way It Might Have Been

• Clos de Vougeot
• 125 acres
• 86 owners

3
Fee Tail

• Duration
• For life of the first taker (tenant-in-tail),
  thereafter to succeeding generation of lineal
  descendants. Expiring when there are no living
  descendant of the first tenant-in-tail
• Magic Language
• To A and the heirs of his body

4
Fee Tail

• Magic Language
• Examples
• To A and the heirs of his body
• To A and the issue of his body
• To A and the heirs of his body, then to B

5
Fee Tail

• More examples
• To A and the male heirs of his body
• To A and female heirs of his body
• To A and the heirs of his body born of the
  marriage of Jane Seymour

6
Fee Tail - Optional History

• Main theme Fee Tail sparked a battle
• between BARONS and JUDGES
• Barons wanted an estate that kept land in
• the family
• Judges (and land entrepreneurs) wanted
• an estate that was freely alienable.

7
Fee Tail - Optional History

• Act 1 Barons make grants to A and the heirs
• of his body to give land to lineal descendants
• Act 2 Judges construe this grant as a Fee Simple
• Conditional if the tenant-in tail has a child,
  the
• tenant-in tail can convey a FSA
• Act 3 1285 Barons (Parliament) pass the
  Statute
• of De Donis Conditionalibus allowing a grantor
  to
• make an estate that ends when lineal descendants
• die out

8
Fee Tail - Optional History

• Act 4 After De Donis, holders of FT devise
• loopholes to enable the holder to convey a FSA to
• another major loopholes is a transfer followed
  by
• a sham lawsuit called an action for common
• recovery.
• Judges validate these loopholes making it
• simple to disentail an estate
• Act 5 1834 - English law reformed to allow the
• tenant to disentail a FT by deed (conveying a FSA)

9
Fee Tail - Optional History

• Transferability
• English Law before De Donis
• Fee Simple Conditional estate was alienable after
  tenants issue born.
• English Law after De Donis
• Fee Tail alienable by common recovery (a
  transfer and sham lawsuit) with taker gaining
  FSA.
• By 1834, English law permits tenant to disentail
  FT by deed.

10
Fee Tail Optional US Modern Rules

• Transferability US law varies by jurisdiction
• Option 1 Few states construe FT language to
  create a Fee Simple Conditional may transfer
  FSA upon birth of child.
• Option 2 Some states recognize FT but allow
• dis-entailing by deed taker gets FSA.
• Option 3 Some states abolished FT (by statute or
  constitution) attempt presumably creates a FSA.

11
Fee Tail Optional US Modern Rules

• Transferability US law varies by jurisdiction
• Option 4 Some states convert FT into a life
  estate for first taker, issue have a remainder in
  FSA.
• Option 5 Some states enforce FT for one
  generation then convert it to FSA.
• Option 6 Some states convert FT into FSA from
  first taker.

12
Common Law - Fee Tail (FT)

• CHARACTERISTICS PP/FT/SCD/GL
• Possessory status
• Estate Family
• Defeasibility
• Mode of Defeasance
• ASSOCIATED FUTURE INTERESTS
• Reversion G
• Remainder C

13
End