Base fee
Encyclopedia
A base fee is an interest in real property that has the potential to last forever, provided a specified contingent event does not take place. For example, a grantee might be given an interest in a piece of land,"as long as the land is not used for any illegal purposes."
In law
, a base fee is a freehold estate
of inheritance
which is limited or qualified by the existence of certain conditions. In modern property law
the commonest example of a base fee is an estate created by a tenant
in tail
, not in possession, who bars the entail without the consent of the protector
of the settlement
. Any attempt to bar the entail without the consent of the Protector would only be partially successful. Though he bars his own issue
(the rights of the future tenants in tail), he cannot bar any remainder
or reversion
, and the estate (i.e. the base fee) thus created is determinable on the failure of his issue in tail. The base fee can be defined as rights that would last for as long as the fee tail would have lasted, but which will end when the line of descent stipulated in the fee tail ran out.
An example of this kind of estate was introduced by George Eliot
into the plot of Felix Holt. Another example of a base fee is an estate descendible to heirs general, but terminable on an uncertain event; for example, a grant of land to A and his heirs, tenants of the manor of Dale. The estate terminates whenever the prescribed qualification ceases. An early meaning of base fee was an estate held not by free or military service, but by base service, i.e. at the will of the lord.
In law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
, a base fee is a freehold estate
Estate (law)
An estate is the net worth of a person at any point in time. It is the sum of a person's assets - legal rights, interests and entitlements to property of any kind - less all liabilities at that time. The issue is of special legal significance on a question of bankruptcy and death of the person...
of inheritance
Inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...
which is limited or qualified by the existence of certain conditions. In modern property law
Property law
Property law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property and in personal property, within the common law legal system. In the civil law system, there is a division between movable and immovable property...
the commonest example of a base fee is an estate created by a tenant
Tenement (law)
A tenement , in law, is anything that is held, rather than owned. This usage is a holdover from feudalism, which still forms the basis of all real-estate law in the English-speaking world, in which the monarch alone owned the allodial title to all the land within his kingdom.Under feudalism, land...
in tail
Fee tail
At common law, fee tail or entail is an estate of inheritance in real property which cannot be sold, devised by will, or otherwise alienated by the owner, but which passes by operation of law to the owner's heirs upon his death...
, not in possession, who bars the entail without the consent of the protector
Protector (trust)
In trust law, a protector is a person appointed under the trust instrument to direct or restrain the trustees in relation to their administration of the trust....
of the settlement
Settlement (trust)
In the context of trusts, a settlement is a deed whereby real estate, land, or other property is given by a settlor into trust so that the beneficiary only has the limited right to the property , but usually has no right to transfer the land to another or leave it in their own will...
. Any attempt to bar the entail without the consent of the Protector would only be partially successful. Though he bars his own issue
Issue (legal)
In law, issue can mean several things:*In wills and trusts, a person's issue are his or her lineal descendants or offspring. These are distinguished from heirs, which can include other kin such as a brother, sister, mother, father, grandfather, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, or cousin.*In...
(the rights of the future tenants in tail), he cannot bar any remainder
Remainder (law)
A remainder in property law is a future interest given to a person that is capable of becoming possessory upon the natural end of a prior estate created by the same instrument...
or reversion
Reversion (law)
A reversion is a type of "remainder" interest created when incomplete ownership in property is alienated subject to a condition subsequent. Upon the fulfillment of the condition subsequent, the incomplete possessory rights cease to exist and exclusive ownership returns to the holder of the...
, and the estate (i.e. the base fee) thus created is determinable on the failure of his issue in tail. The base fee can be defined as rights that would last for as long as the fee tail would have lasted, but which will end when the line of descent stipulated in the fee tail ran out.
An example of this kind of estate was introduced by George Eliot
George Eliot
Mary Anne Evans , better known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, journalist and translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era...
into the plot of Felix Holt. Another example of a base fee is an estate descendible to heirs general, but terminable on an uncertain event; for example, a grant of land to A and his heirs, tenants of the manor of Dale. The estate terminates whenever the prescribed qualification ceases. An early meaning of base fee was an estate held not by free or military service, but by base service, i.e. at the will of the lord.