escheat
Sign in to saveEscheat () is a common law doctrine that transfers the real property of a person who has died without heirs to the crown or state. It serves to ensure that property is not left in "limbo" without recognized ownership. It originally applied to a number of situations where a legal interest in land was destroyed by operation of law, so that the ownership of the land reverted to the immediately superior feudal lord.
~14 min read
Article
14 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Origins in feudalism
- Background
- Procedure
- Current operation
- England and Wales
- Bankruptcies and liquidations
- Registration of Crown land
- United States
- Transfer agents and escheatment
- Lost shareholders
- See also
- Sources
- References
Escheat () is a common law doctrine that transfers the real property of a person who has died without heirs to the crown or state. It serves to ensure that property is not left in "limbo" without recognized ownership. It originally applied to a number of situations where a legal interest in land was destroyed by operation of law, so that the ownership of the land reverted to the immediately superior feudal lord.
==Etymology== The term "escheat" derives ultimately from the Latin ex-cadere, to "fall-out", via mediaeval French escheoir. The sense is of a feudal estate in land falling-out of the possession by a tenant into the possession of the lord.