What is a fee tail in property law?

A fee tail is a specific type of property estate that is structured to limit inheritance to a designated line of heirs, typically the direct descendants of the original grantee. This means that when the original owner of the property passes away, the estate does not go to their heirs at large but rather remains constrained within a specified lineage.

This structure is intended to keep the property within a financially or socially linked family line, thereby preventing it from being sold or inherited by people outside that designated lineage. The result is that the estate can provide stability and continuity for the family line indicated, as it simplifies the chain of inheritance and control over the property.

The other options describe different forms of property estates but do not accurately capture the defining characteristic of a fee tail, which is its restriction on inheritance to a specific line of heirs. An estate designed to last indefinitely refers more to a fee simple absolute, while an estate that reverts back to the grantor is characteristic of a reversionary interest. An estate granted for the lifetime of an individual is linked to life estates, not fee tails.