Escheat Definition

ĭs-chēt
escheats
noun
The reverting of property to the lord of the manor (in feudal law), to the crown (in England), or to the government (in the U.S.) when there are no legal heirs.
Webster's New World
Reversion of property to the state in the absence of legal heirs or claimants.
American Heritage
Property so reverting.
Webster's New World
Property that has reverted to the state when no legal heirs or claimants exist.
American Heritage
The transfer of property to government ownership when its owner dies without a will or any heirs; property that is so transferred.
Webster's New World Law
verb
To revert or cause to revert by escheat.
American Heritage
To cause to escheat; confiscate.
Webster's New World
To revert or go by escheat.
Webster's New World

(of property) To revert to a state or lord because its previous owner died without an heir.

Wiktionary

Other Word Forms of Escheat

Noun

Singular:
escheat
Plural:
escheats

Origin of Escheat

  • Middle English eschete from Old French (from escheoir to fall out) and from Anglo-Latin escheta both from Vulgar Latin excadēre to fall out Latin ex- ex- Latin cadere to fall kad- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Middle English eschete, from Anglo-Norman escheat, Old French eschet, escheit, escheoit (“that which falls to one”), from the past participle of eschoir (“to fall”), from Vulgar Latin *excadō, from Latin ex + cadō (“I fall”).

    From Wiktionary

Escheat Sentence Examples

  • Trust estates were not subject to escheat until the Intestates' Estates Act 1884, but now by that act the law of escheat applies in the same manner as if the estate or interest were a legal estate in corporeal hereditaments.

  • The principal incidents of a seignory were an oath of fealty; a "quit" or "chief" rent; a "relief" of one year's quit rent, and the right of escheat.

  • Hitherto life-owners of land, holding as subtenants, had possessed large powers of alienating it, to the detriment of their superior lords, who would otherwise have recovered it, when their vassals died heirless, as an escheat.

  • Besides escheat for defect of heirs, there was formerly also escheat propter delictum tenentis, or by the corruption of the blood of the tenant through attainder consequent on conviction and sentence for treason or felony.

  • Escheat is also an incident of copyhold tenure.

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Words Starting With

EESESC

Words Ending With

TATEAT

Unscrambles

escheat

Words Starting With E and Ending With T

Starts With E & Ends With TStarts With ES & Ends With TStarts With E & Ends With AT

Word Length

7 Letter Words7 Letter Words Starting With E7 Letter Words Ending With T