46:3-13 - Fee simple; creation by deed; construction favorable to creation
46:3-13. Fee simple; creation by deed; construction favorable to creation
Every deed conveying lands shall, unless an exception be made therein, be construed to include all the estate, right, title, interest, use, possession, property, claim and demand whatsoever, both in law and equity, of the grantor, including the fee simple if he had such an estate, of, in and to the premises conveyed, with the appurtenances, and the word "heirs" shall not be necessary in any deed to effect the conveyance of the fee simple; and every deed conveying lands to executors, trustees or other fiduciaries, in which the granting clause or habendum clause runs to the "successors and assigns" , shall, unless other words of limitation are used, be construed as conveying the fee simple of the grantor if he had such an estate, to the same effect as if the words "heirs and assigns" had been used.
If, in any suit to reform a deed of conveyance of lands, whether absolute or by way of mortgage, the estate conveyed be limited to the grantee, his successors and assigns forever, or to the grantee, his legal representatives and assigns forever, such limitation shall, in the absence of other words in the deed clearly indicating an intention to limit the estate to the life of the grantee, be considered as presumptive evidence that the grantor intended thereby to convey an estate in fee simple in such lands, notwithstanding the omission of the word "heirs" from such deed.