Limited Fee Law and Legal Definition

Limited fee refers to a fee that ceases with the existence of certain conditions.

In the U.S., a limited fee is a creation of the U.S.Congress. The limited fee has the following characteristics:

It is a right to use the surface of the land for a specific purpose;

such land has definite boundaries which must be recorded with the Federal Government;

it cannot be conveyed to be used for any purpose other than that specified in the grant and cannot be taken by adverse possession for any other purpose;

when the limited fee is abandoned or forfeited it can only be by virtue of Federal statute or regulation and the fee reverts back to the U.S.;

a limited fee owner has a superior right to the surface of the land against anyone else;

it is used for railroads, pipelines, power plants, irrigation ditches and reservoirs, canals, etc. for authority as to the foregoing conclusions. [Wiltbank v. Lyman Water Co., 477 P.2d 771, 774 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1970)]