FEE, in Law, the same as feud or fief, properly signifies a conditional stipend or reward, and is applied to property held of a superior on condition of rendering him service. An estate of inheritance is said to be in fee-simple when it is held in the freest manner, clear of any condition, limita-
tion, or restrictions to particular heirs, and descendible to heirs general, whether male or female, lineal or collateral. Limited fees are such as are burthened and confined with conditions or qualifications; and these may be divided into two kinds, viz., qualified or base fees, and fees conditional or fees tail. A qualified or base fee is such as has a qualification annexed to it, and which must terminate when the qualification subjoined to it is at an end; e.g. an estate granted to A and his heirs, tenants of the manor of Dale, is determined whenever A or his heirs cease to be tenants of that manor. A conditional fee at common law was a fee restrained to particular heirs exclusive of others; as, to the heirs of a man's body, by which collaterals were excluded. In such case, if the donee had no heirs of his own body, the land reverted to the donor on the death of the donee; but if heirs were born, his estate became absolute and unconditional, so that he might alienate it, and thereby bar not only his own issue, but also the donor, of his reversionary interest. If, however, the tenant did not so alienate the land, the condition still remained in force; for if the issue had afterwards died without any alienation, the land, in terms of the donation, reverted to the donor on the death of the donee. This naturally gave rise to fictitious sales of land by tenants in possession, as soon as they had performed the conditions specified in the grant; so that on the reconveyance of the land into their hands they held it unconditionally, or in fee-simple. To abolish this practice, the statute of 13th Edw. I., cap. 1, commonly called the statute de donis conditionalibus, was passed, enacting that from thenceforth the will of the donor be observed, and that the land should go to the heirs specified, if there were any, or if none that it should revert to the donor. Thus the donee had no longer a conditional fee-simple which became absolute and at his own disposal the instant any issue was born; but the estate was divided into two parts, leaving in the donee a new kind of particular estate, denominated a fee-tail, and vesting in the donor the ultimate fee-simple of the land, expectant on the failure of issue; which expectant estate is termed a reversion. Estates tail are either general or special; the former being where lands and tenements are given to one, and the heirs of his body; the latter is where the gift is restrained to certain heirs of the donee's body; as where lands and tenements are given to a man and his heirs by his now wife. Estates in general and special tail are further diversified by the distinction of sexes in such entails, for either may be in tail male or tail female. See ENTAIL.