Where this fits on the exam
| Official syllabus topic | Property Ownership: Freehold Estates; Fee Simple and Defeasible Estates |
|---|---|
| Official PSI area | Property Ownership |
| Published weight | 10% of the national portion |
| Source edition | PSI Georgia Candidate Information Bulletin dated July 1, 2026 |
The Rule
PSI publishes a weight for the complete official area, not a guaranteed count for this individual comparison. Use the source, document, actor, event, and timing stated in the question before applying a memorized definition.
Side-by-side comparison
Read across each row. The terms are deliberately compared on identical dimensions so the difference remains clear when the exam hides the vocabulary inside a scenario.
| Decision dimension | Fee simple absolute | Defeasible fee |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | Potentially unlimited | Potentially unlimited but subject to a stated condition or event |
| Condition | No special terminating condition in the grant | Language creates a limitation, condition, or power of termination |
| Future interest | None created by a special limitation | Possibility of reverter or right of entry may exist |
| Words clue | To A and A's heirs | So long as, while, until, or on condition that, depending on the estate |
Decision rule
Georgia-specific distinction
Worked example
Scenario. A deed conveys land to a city so long as it is used as a public park.
Reason it through. The duration is expressly limited by continued park use, and 'so long as' signals automatic termination language.
Answer. The city holds a defeasible fee, not fee simple absolute.
Common exam traps
- Ignoring limiting words
- Treating every covenant as a defeasible fee
- Confusing automatic termination with a right of entry
- Calling the broadest estate unlimited government ownership
Original practice questions with detailed explanations
These are original instructional questions mapped to the July 1, 2026 PSI outline. They are not copied from PSI or any live examination. Choose an answer before opening the explanation.
Question 1A deed conveys land "to the county school district so long as the land is used for school purposes." What estate does the school district receive?
- A. Fee simple absolute, because no end date is stated
- B. A defeasible fee that can end if school use stops
- C. A life estate measured by the district's existence
- D. A leasehold that lasts while the schools operate
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: B. A defeasible fee that can end if school use stops
The words "so long as" limit how long the estate lasts, so the district holds a defeasible fee rather than fee simple absolute. The estate is potentially unlimited but ends if the stated use stops. Choosing fee simple absolute because no calendar date appears ignores the limiting words in the grant.
- A. Incorrect. An estate can be limited by a condition without an end date. The words so long as restrict its duration.
- B. Correct. The grant continues only while the stated use continues. That limiting language creates a defeasible fee.
- C. Incorrect. A life estate is measured by a person's life. The district's school use is the condition here.
- D. Incorrect. A conditional deed conveyance is not necessarily a lease. The stem grants an ownership estate.
Question 2Deed A grants land "so long as it is used as a church." Deed B grants land "on condition that it is used as a church, and if not, the grantor may reenter." Church use stops under both deeds. What happens?
- A. Both estates end automatically when church use stops
- B. Neither estate can end, because both grants are in fee
- C. Deed A ends only if the grantor acts; Deed B ends automatically
- D. Deed A ends automatically; Deed B ends only if the grantor acts
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: D. Deed A ends automatically; Deed B ends only if the grantor acts
"So long as" creates an estate that ends automatically, leaving the grantor a possibility of reverter. "On condition that" with a reentry clause gives the grantor a right of entry, so the estate continues until the grantor exercises it. Swapping the two results is the classic confusion between automatic termination and a right of entry.
- A. Incorrect. The reentry clause in Deed B requires action by the holder of that right. It is not the same automatic ending as Deed A.
- B. Incorrect. A fee may be defeasible. Both deeds expressly contain conditions capable of ending the estates.
- C. Incorrect. This reverses the standard distinction. So long as signals automatic termination; the reentry clause requires the holder to act.
- D. Correct. Under the stated national deed-language comparison, Deed A is determinable and ends automatically. Deed B reserves a right of entry that must be exercised.
Question 3Dana receives a deed "to Dana and Dana's heirs" with no conditions or limiting words. Dana has always used the land as a farm. What does Dana hold?
- A. Fee simple absolute, the broadest private estate
- B. A defeasible fee tied to continued farm use
- C. A life estate that passes to Dana's heirs
- D. Fee simple, subject to the grantor's right of entry
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: A. Fee simple absolute, the broadest private estate
With no limiting language in the grant, Dana holds fee simple absolute, the broadest private ownership estate. The property's current use does not create a condition. Reading a restriction into the deed from the farm use is the mistake behind the defeasible-fee choice.
- A. Correct. The deed contains no condition limiting Dana's ownership. To Dana and Dana's heirs indicates an inheritable fee, not a life estate.
- B. Incorrect. Existing farm use is a fact about the property. It does not insert a use condition into an unrestricted deed.
- C. Incorrect. The heirs wording signals inheritance, not an estate ending at Dana's death. A life estate needs different limiting language.
- D. Incorrect. A right of entry must arise from the deed's conditional terms. None are stated here.
Ready to move on?
You have this distinction down when all of these are true.
- Define every compared term without using the other term as the definition.
- Rebuild the comparison table from memory.
- State the decision rule and Georgia distinction without notes.
- Solve the worked example after changing one key fact.
- Explain the rule or fact that makes each distractor wrong.
- Answer all three original questions correctly in mixed practice on a later day.
Recommended next lesson
Continue with Condominium Versus Cooperative Versus Timeshare. With fee estates sorted, Condominium Versus Cooperative Versus Timeshare asks what legal interest a buyer actually receives: a deeded unit, entity shares with an occupancy right, or a recurring time-based interest.
Return to the complete exam-concept library or the Property Ownership hub.