Fee simple refers to which type of ownership?

• A. Equitable ownership
• B. Joint tenancy
• C. Tenancy by entirety
• D. Ownership, complete ownership

Answer: (D)

Fee simple is the broadest form of real property ownership, giving the owner an unrestricted bundle of rights over the property for an unlimited duration. The owner may possess, use, exclude others, transfer, mortgage, and pass the property to heirs by will or through inheritance, all without any conditions that could terminate the ownership. Because it represents full, plenary ownership, it’s described as complete ownership.

Equitable ownership refers to interests recognized by fairness rather than outright legal title rights; joint tenancy and tenancy by entirety are forms of co-ownership with survivorship features, each having specific unity and survivorship rules. Those don’t describe the single, unlimited ownership implied by fee simple.