FEE SIMPLE (Lat. fcodum simplex). A fee, or estate of inheritance, which has the qual ities of general heritability and unlimited alien ability. It is distinguished from the fee tail. See FEE TAIL.
A fee simple may be absolute, in which case it is unhampered by any condition or limitation whatsoever; or it may be qualified, or limited, as where it is to come to an end upon the happening of a definite event. The conditioval fee of the early common law, out of which the fee tail has been developed, was a variety of the qualified or limited fee simple. It was a gift of lands to a man and his heirs, provided and so long as he should have heirs of his body. (See CONDITIONAL FEE; DONIS CONDITIONALIBUS, STATUTE DE.) Of this nature is a conveyance to A and his heirs so long as Saint Paul's Church shall stand, or so long as the Republic shall endure, or until a certain charity shall be established.
But. though a fee simple may be made ter minable by a limitation, as above described, it is not possible to deprive it of either of its prin cipal incidents of alienability and heritability. No restriction upon either of these is valid, and a condition providing for a forfeiture on aliena tion or limiting the course of descent, will be wholly disregarded. The same is true of the only
surviving feudal incident attaching to fees simple —that of escheat. This will take effect on fail ure of heirs, irrespective of any attempt to qual ify or prevent it. Thus a gift of lands to A and his heirs, with the proviso that on failure of heirs the property shall go to B, will vest an ab solute fee simple in A, subject to the right of escheat, and the attempted gift to B will fail. bee ESCHEAT; ESTATE.
As a fee simple is the largest estate that a man can have, falling short of absolute owner ship only through the operation of the doctrine of tenure, and subject only to the dominant rights of the lord (usually the State) of whom the land is held, it was not possible at common law to grant any remainder or other future estate over after a fee simple. Under modern statutes. how ever. a fee simple terminable by a conditional event may be followed by anotber fee simple. See EXECUTORY DEVISE. Consult the author ities referred to under FEE.