A. THE PRESENT ESTATES

(1) Fee Simple Absolute
• Future Estate: None
• Language Creating FSA: (a) to “A and his heirs (b) to “A, his heirs and assigns” (c) to “A”
• Duration: Unlimited
• Transferability: By deed, will or intestacy
• FSA is form of undivided ownership
• It is unlimited in duration
• Words of purchase: words of conveyance “A”
• Words of limitations: words that describe or limit the estate which is transferred “to his hears”; also designate something less than FSA “to A for life”
• The owner A can transfer himself does not need his hears to join him to convey
• The statute usually provides that any conveyance will be presumed to pass entire estate (FSA) to the grantor unless the contrary intent is expressed in document

Meaning of “words of purchase”
• Does not necessary mean A bought the land it could be gift, inheritance etc
Meaning of “heirs”
• Has a technical meaning, descendents of a person who died intestate
• Living person does not have heirs, can have presumptive heirs
Meaning of “words of inheritance”
• “and his heirs” are not only words of limitation but also words of inheritance
• They describe inheritable estate which does not end with the holder’s death like in life estate

• FSA holder has the largest estate know to law
• The grantees enjoyment of the estate may be encumbered by interests in land by mortgage, private nuisance etc, government may restrict use of land in manner that would jeopardize health, safety etc.

(2) Defeasible Fee Estate
• Owner of FSA can transfer an estate in fees simple and still keep his strings attached to it. Can be done in two ways:
(1) determinable estate: estate which ends automatically upon the happening of event is called
(2) estate of condition subsequent: estate which only becomes vulnerable to being terminated at the grantor’s election

Other terms for “determinable” qualified fee, fee on special limitation, base fee. The estate on condition subsequent is sometimes called fee on condition, fee subject to condition Meaning of “defeasible” both determinable estate and estate of condition subsequent have one thing in common: they may not last as long as FSA Terms to describe the future interests corresponding to the defeasible estates
• the interest left in grantor after transferring fee simple determinable is called possibility of reverter.
• The interest left after transfer of fee on condition subsequent is called right of entry or power of termination

• Third kind of defeasible fee – when grantor uses language which requires the estate to shift over to a third party upon happening of event rather than coming back to grantor “To A and his heirs, but if B marries C, over to B and his heirs.”
• The transferor can only transfer what she or he owns. You can transfer defeasible fee by he same way you can FSA (will, deed, intestacy) but only what you have under that defeasible fee
• Word of condition alone have been held not to create a fees simple on a condition subsequent