Legal Definitions - discontinuee

A discontinuee is an individual or entity that acquires ownership of a piece of property (an estate) that was previously subject to a specific, restrictive inheritance rule known as a "fee tail."

A fee tail is a historical legal arrangement where property could only be inherited by a specific line of descendants, typically the eldest male heirs, and could not be freely sold or given away by the current owner. When a discontinuee acquires such property, their acquisition effectively "discontinues" or breaks the right of the original, designated heirs to inherit that property under the terms of the fee tail.

Here are some examples:

• Example 1: Court-Ordered Transfer

  Imagine "Evergreen Manor," a historic estate, was established centuries ago with a fee tail, dictating it must always pass to the eldest son of the Sterling family. Over generations, the family line dwindles, and the current owner, Lady Sterling, has no sons, only a daughter, Miss Eleanor Sterling. Miss Eleanor successfully petitions a court to have the fee tail legally broken, arguing it's an outdated and unfair restriction. The court grants her full ownership of Evergreen Manor, free from the fee tail. In this situation, Miss Eleanor Sterling becomes the discontinuee because her acquisition of the estate, through the court's ruling, discontinues the right of any potential future male Sterling heirs (however distant) to inherit the property under the original fee tail.

• Example 2: Legal Sale After Entailment is Broken

  Consider "Riverbend Farm," a property in the 19th century that was held under a fee tail, meaning it was intended to stay within the eldest male line of the Thompson family. The current owner, Mr. Arthur Thompson, facing severe financial difficulties, uses a specific legal procedure (historically known as "barring the entail") to convert the fee tail into full, unrestricted ownership. He then sells Riverbend Farm to Mrs. Clara Beaumont. Mrs. Clara Beaumont is the discontinuee because her purchase of Riverbend Farm, made possible by the legal breaking of the fee tail, discontinues the right of future Thompson family heirs to inherit the property as originally intended.

• Example 3: Acquisition Through Adverse Possession

  Let's say a remote forested parcel, "Whispering Pines," was part of a fee tail estate meant for the descendants of the Oakhaven family. However, the Oakhaven family lost track of this particular parcel generations ago. For forty years, a local timber company, "Forestry Solutions Inc.," openly and continuously harvested timber from Whispering Pines, maintained access roads, and paid property taxes, believing it owned the land. Eventually, Forestry Solutions Inc. successfully claims legal ownership of Whispering Pines through adverse possession (a legal principle where ownership is gained by occupying land openly and without permission for a statutory period). Forestry Solutions Inc. is the discontinuee. Its acquisition of Whispering Pines through adverse possession discontinues any remaining right the Oakhaven family's fee tail heirs might have had to the property.