Which present fee simple is limited by specific conditional language and grants the grantor a right of reentry, not automatic termination?

• A. Life Estate
• B. Fee Simple Subject to Executory Interest
• C. Fee Simple Determinable
• D. Fee Simple Subject to Condition Subsequent

Answer: (D)

The present fee simple is limited by conditional language with a right of reentry, not automatic termination, which makes it a fee simple subject to a condition subsequent. In this arrangement the grantor retains the power to reclaim the property if the condition is breached, but the grantee’s ownership continues until the grantor actually reenters. The key distinction is that the grantor must take action to retake, rather than the estate automatically ending when the condition occurs. This differs from a fee simple determinable, where the condition ends the estate automatically and the property reverts by operation of law (automatic termination) to the grantor via a reverter. It also differs from a fee simple subject to an executory interest, where upon breach the property shifts to a third party rather than the grantor. And it isn’t a life estate, which is ownership measured by the life of a person, not a present fee simple with a back-end right of entry.