Also known as: De Donis Conditionalibus · Statute De Donis · Statute of Westminster II
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A medieval English statute enacted in 1285 that converted conveyances to a grantee and the heirs of the grantee's body into estates in fee tail. The statute required that the land descend only to lineal heirs of the body and barred the tenant in tail from alienating the property in a manner that defeated those heirs. It remains operative in jurisdictions that have enacted no statutory or judicial modification fundamentally altering its traditional effect.
Daphne Doyle conveyed Blackacre to Darius Dixon by deed stating the property passed to Darius and the heirs of his body. Darius later contracted to sell the land outright to Dover Bank. Because the deed employed the classic limitation and State A has issued no pronouncement altering the statute's operation, the conveyance created a fee tail that prevents Darius from transferring full ownership to the bank.
Dominic Drake devised land to his four children using language that would have created a conditional fee before 1285. The children sought to treat their interests as absolute fees and sell the property. The court applied the unmodified statute and held that the devise created fee tails restricting alienation outside the direct lineal line.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
The conveyance creates an estate in fee tail when the Statute De Donis remains in force without fundamental statutory or judicial modification. The tenant in tail holds only a limited interest that descends solely to lineal heirs of the body.
No. The statute prevents the tenant from alienating the property in a way that defeats the interests of the lineal heirs. Any attempted conveyance of fee simple title is ineffective beyond the tenant's limited interest.
No. Language directing that the property support family or charitable endeavors does not constitute the fundamental modification required to alter the traditional operation of the statute. The words of limitation control the nature of the estate.
The absence of any statutory or judicial pronouncement means the statute continues in force and the conveyance creates a fee tail. Silence does not imply abolition of the traditional rule.