"O to A and heirs of his body" creates what estate under traditional law?

• A. Fee tail
• B. Fee simple absolute
• C. Life estate
• D. Fee simple determinable

Answer: (A)

The language to A and the heirs of his body signals a fee tail. In traditional law, granting to a person “and the heirs of his body” limits the estate to that person's lineal descendants—only A’s children, grandchildren, and so on. The property remains with A’s line of heirs rather than passing to collateral relatives, and it continues down through A’s descendants as long as there are issue. If A dies without issue, the estate terminates and ownership reverts to the grantor or the grantor’s heirs, depending on the grant. This is distinct from a fee simple absolute (to A and his heirs), which is unlimited and not restricted to A’s descendants, from a life estate (to A for life), which ends at A’s death, or from a fee simple determinable (to A so long as a condition or time phrase is satisfied), which uses words of duration or condition.