FEE TAIL
An estate in land subject to a restriction regarding inheritance.
A fee tail is an interest in real property that is
ordinarily created with words such as “to A and
the heirs of his body.” It may be limited in vari-
ous ways, such as to male or female heirs only, or
to children produced by a particular spouse.
A fee tail is passed by inheritance from gener-
ation to generation to the heirs of the body of the
initial owner. Since no one is an heir of the living,
the children of the owner of a fee tail are merely
heirs apparent. Such children, therefore, have no
transferable interest during their lifetimes.
A fee tail can endure until the holder dies
without surviving issue, but it cannot be passed
on to collateral heirs. A reversion remains in the
original owner whenever a fee tail is created.
Thus, if a tenant in fee tail dies without heirs, the
property reverts back to the original grantor
who initially created the fee tail estate.
The power of the holder of a fee tail is lim-
ited, since the holder can use the land during the
course of his or her lifetime but cannot prohibit
its passing to his or her bodily heirs if any exist
upon his or her death.
Many jurisdictions have abolished the fee
tail estate since it restricts the ready alienation,
or transfer, of property. Such states have trans-
