Fee tail

Definition
: a fee which is granted to an individual and to that individual's descendants, which is subject to a reversion or a remainder if a tenant in tail dies with no lineal descendants, and which is not freely alienable
see also entail De Donis Conditionalibus in the Important Laws section
compare fee simple conditional at fee simple
The fee tail developed out of the fee simple conditional as a means to ensure that property would remain intact and in the family. Instead of giving the grantee a fee simple absolute once he or she has a child, which the grantee could then alienate (as by selling), the fee tail creates a future interest in the descendants which prevents the grantee and the descendants from alienating the property. A fee tail is created by a conveyance to the grantee and to the heirs of the grantee's body. In most jurisdictions, the fee tail is not recognized.
2  : a fixed amount or percentage charged
esp
: a sum paid or charged for a service <attorney ~s>



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Based on Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law ©2001.
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collateral estoppel

estoppel by judgment barring the relitigation of issues litigated by the same parties on a different cause of action


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