fee simple determinable

A fee simple determinable is a possessory estate in land. It is a type of fee simple ownership similar to a fee simple absolute, but subject to a condition specified by the grantor at the time of conveyance. These are known as defeasible fees. For a fee simple determinable, if the condition is met, ownership will immediately and automatically return to the grantor, whose future interest in the property is called a possibility of a reverter.

A fee simple determinable and corresponding possibility of a reverter are created by grants that use durational language, such as “until” or “as long as.”

For example, “O grants Blackacre to A as long as it is used as a museum.” O has granted A a fee simple determinable, and O has retained the possibility of a reverter. Should A stop using Blackacre as a museum, it will immediately and automatically revert to O’s ownership.

There are two other types of defeasible fees. A fee simple determinable differs from a fee simple subject to an executory limitation in that the grantor has retained the future interest in the property instead of granting the future interest to a third party. Otherwise, they operate identically. A fee simple subject to a condition subsequent differs in that it is created using conditional language instead of durational, and the grantor must take action to reestablish ownership after the specified condition is met, instead of the transfer occurring automatically.

[Last reviewed in June of 2025 by the Wex Definitions Team]

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