Disentail refers to the process of converting a fee tail into a fee simple. The majority of states have passed some form of disentailing statutes.
While originally an important part of property law, fee tails (property interests which can only be transferred to its owner’s children) have since been deemed overly burdensome in the modern world. As a result, many states provide a method for parties to convert their fee tails into a far more transferable fee simple property interest (Land owned in fee simple is owned completely, without any limitations or conditions).
For example, Alabama law prohibits the creation of new fee tails and turns all existing fee tails into a fee simple once they are transferred. In states with a statute like this one, a party can turn their fee tail into a fee simple through the use of a straw man transaction.
[Last updated in September of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]
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