Escheat in United States

Escheat Definition

(Fr. escheoir, to happen). Under the Feudal System. An obstruction of the course of descent, and a consequent determination of the tenure by some unforeseen contingency, in which case the land naturally reverts back to the original grantor or lord of the fee. 2 Bl. Comm. 244. Escheat grows out of the doctrine of tenure, which is the foundation of the feudal system, whereby a man was not an owner of land, but only of a demesne estate therein, based on allegiance to a superior lord. Escheat is to be distinguished from forfeiture. Forfeiture of land for crime was part of the Saxon system, and was not a consequence of any lordship paramount. It was not superseded by the introduction of the Norman tenures from which escheat resulted. Escheat therefore operates in subordination to this more ancient and superior law of forfeiture. 2 Bl. Comm. 251. The principal grounds of escheat were death inbestate without heirs, alienage, illegitimacy, and attainder. 2 Bl. Comm. 246; 4 Kent, Comm. 424. Only the first two are generally in force in the United States, the third being generally abolished by statute, and the fourth by Const. U. S. art. 1, I 9, subd. 3. See 9 Mass. 363. In Modern Law. The reversion of land to the state by reason of failure of heirs or of the owner’s incapacity to hold.

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(Fr. escheoir, to happen). Under the Feudal System. An obstruction of the course of descent, and a consequent determination of the tenure by some unforeseen contingency, in which case the land naturally reverts back to the original grantor or lord of the fee. 2 Bl. Comm. 244. Escheat grows out of the doctrine of tenure, which is the foundation of the feudal system, whereby a man was not an owner of land, but only of a demesne estate therein, based on allegiance to a superior lord. Escheat is to be distinguished from forfeiture. Forfeiture of land for crime was part of the Saxon system, and was not a consequence of any lordship paramount. It was not superseded by the introduction of the Norman tenures from which escheat resulted. Escheat therefore operates in subordination to this more ancient and superior law of forfeiture. 2 Bl. Comm. 251. The principal grounds of escheat were death inbestate without heirs, alienage, illegitimacy, and attainder. 2 Bl. Comm. 246; 4 Kent, Comm. 424. Only the first two are generally in force in the United States, the third being generally abolished by statute, and the fourth by Const. U. S. art. 1, I 9, subd. 3. See 9 Mass. 363. In Modern Law. The reversion of land to the state by reason of failure of heirs or of the owner’s incapacity to hold.

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This definition of Escheat is based on The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary. This entry needs to be proofread.

Practical Information

Note: Some of this information was last updated in 1982

The return of land to the state if the owner dies without legal heirs Unclaimed personal property may also go to the state. Escheated personal property is called bona vacantia.

(Revised by Ann De Vries)

What is Escheat?

For a meaning of it, read Escheat in the Legal Dictionary here. Browse and search more U.S. and international free legal definitions and legal terms related to Escheat.

Meaning of Escheat

In plain or simple terms, Escheat means: In American law, the right of the state to an estate left vacant, to which no one makes a valid claim.

Basic Meaning of Escheat

Escheat means: forfeiture of a decedent’s property to the state in the absence of heirs.