Meaning & use
escheat
Last updated
The legal reversion of property to the state when its owner dies without heirs or a valid will.
See it in a sentence
Under escheat law, the unclaimed estate passed to the state treasury.
The lawyer explained the rules of escheat to the confused heirs.
A note on using this word
Escheat comes from Old French escheoir, 'to fall to,' and remains a term used in property and probate law.
Words with a similar meaning
forfeiturereversion
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Another way to use it
2. verb
To revert to the state through escheat.
The abandoned estate escheated to the county after no heirs came forward.
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