The Limited Freehold Estates
- A fee tail is a limited estate with succession confined to the direct descendants of the original holder of the estate – descendent determined according to ancient heirship rules which leaned in favour of the eldest son.
- A life estate is an estate to last someone’s lifetime, either the grantee’s lifetime or the lifetime of someone else – a life estate pur autre vie or for a specified period. These estates were used in the creation of a strict settlement.
The most common example of strict settlement occurs where a landowner provides in his will that the land is to go to his eldest son for life and then the remainder is to pass to his son’s eldest son in fee tail.
Settlement would often provide for payment of an annuity to the widow (jointure). Provision could be made for the younger children of the landowner by giving them a capital sum on reaching a certain age or getting married (portions). These were capital sums designed to set them up for life. They were secured by charging them on the land.
The strict settlement meant that the land was effectively inalienable.
Read more about this topic: Settled Land Acts
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