Definition
A special tail is a form of estate tail in which the inheritance is restricted not merely to the general lineal descendants of the grantee, but specifically to children born of a designated pairing — that is, to the issue of a particular named couple. The classic form runs to "A. and the heirs of his body by B. his wife," confining succession to children born of A. and B. together. If A. remarries or has children by another partner, those children fall outside the tail and cannot inherit under it.
This stands in contrast to a general tail, where the limitation runs to all bodily heirs of the grantee without restriction as to the other parent.
Common Confusion
SPECIAL TAIL vs. GENERAL TAIL: The distinction turns on whether the descent is confined to issue of a specific union. A general tail passes to any lineal descendants of the grantee, regardless of which partner produced them. A special tail narrows the class of eligible heirs to issue of two specifically identified parents. The practical consequence was historically significant: a special tail extinguished more quickly if the designated couple had no surviving issue, while a general tail could survive through children of subsequent relationships.
SPECIAL TAIL vs. TAIL MALE / TAIL FEMALE: Tail male and tail female are sub-forms that restrict inheritance by the sex of the heir, not by the identity of the other parent. These are independent restrictions that can overlay one another — an estate could theoretically be limited to male heirs of A.'s body by B. his wife, combining both a special tail and a tail male.
Recognized Forms
/SUBTYPES
Special tail in the common form: Descent limited to issue of a named husband and wife, as in "to A. and the heirs of his body by B. his wife."
Special tail with sex restriction: The special limitation as to parentage combined with a further restriction to heirs of one sex — e.g., male issue of A.'s body by B. his wife.
Why It Matters in Research
Special tail is a term rooted in real property law that reached its peak significance in the feudal and post-feudal English land tenure system. By the time American courts were operating at scale, fee tail estates were already being abolished or converted by statute in most American jurisdictions, rendering the fine distinctions between special and general tail largely historical curiosities in U.S. practice. Researchers working in colonial-era conveyancing records, early American deed chains, or English common law sources will encounter this term and need the distinction to correctly parse the scope of an inheritance limitation.
The key research trap is assuming that any reference to "estate tail" in early records implies a general tail. When source documents name a specific spouse or partner in the limitation clause, the estate is a special tail, and the eligible class of heirs is narrower than it first appears. This can affect analysis of whether an estate tail was later barred by common recovery, fine, or disentailing statute, and who held valid title after any such proceeding.
American researchers should also be alert to the early statutory history in their jurisdiction. States including Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia moved early to convert fee tail estates to fee simple by statute, sometimes with different rules for existing versus future grants. Whether a special tail survived such conversion or was treated identically to a general tail for statutory purposes may not be explicit in secondary sources and requires attention to the specific statutory text.
The encyclopedia entry on tail coverage in insurance law (insurance_13) shares the word "tail" but is entirely unrelated — that usage refers to extended reporting periods in liability insurance and derives from a wholly different conceptual lineage. Do not conflate them.
Historical Dictionary Support
The historical dictionaries are in close agreement on the core definition. Black's and Rapalje & Lawrence both point to Stephens's Commentaries (1 Steph. Comm. 244) for the formulation "to A. and the heirs of his body by B. his wife," and both define special tail identically in functional terms. Bouvier simply cross-references estate tail without independent elaboration, which is characteristic of Bouvier's treatment of sub-forms.
Rapalje & Lawrence's entry contains an apparent anomaly: the second sentence pivots without transition to discuss Chancery trusts that contravene public policy (trusts to defraud creditors, etc.). This passage appears to be a typographical artifact of the original compilation — likely a fragment from an adjacent entry — and has no connection to the doctrine of special tail. Researchers should disregard it as an editorial error in that source.
None of the historical dictionaries address American statutory modifications to fee tail, reflecting their orientation toward English common law doctrine. For American practice, supplement with treatises on real property or jurisdiction-specific sources.
Jurisdictional Note
Fee tail estates, including the special tail, were abolished or converted to fee simple in the vast majority of American states by the nineteenth century, either by reception statutes, disentailing acts, or constitutional provision. A handful of states retained modified forms longer. In England, the Fines and Recoveries Act 1833 and ultimately the Law of Property Act 1925 effectively eliminated the practical significance of the distinction. The special tail retains live legal significance primarily in interpreting historical instruments and title chains predating abolition.
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
The Law Mind Insurance Law Encyclopedia, insurance_13 (Policy Period, Retroactive Dates, and Extended Reporting Periods) uses "tail" in the insurance sense only. There is no meaningful doctrinal connection to special tail in property law. No encyclopedia entry on fee tail or estate tail is directly matched; researchers should consult related property law materials in the Law Mind corpus.