Escheat refers to?

Escheat refers to?

• A. The government taking private property for public use with compensation.
• B. A person forfeiting title after long-term vacancy.
• C. The state acquiring ownership of property when owner dies without heirs or heirs can't be located.
• D. The transfer of property due to eminent domain.

Answer: (C)

Escheat is the state taking ownership of property when the owner dies without heirs or when heirs cannot be located. If someone dies without a will and there are no surviving relatives who can be identified or found, the property reverts to the state so it isn’t left ownerless. This is different from eminent domain, where the government takes private property for public use with compensation, and from vacancy or abandonment scenarios that involve different legal processes.

Escheat is the state taking ownership of property when the owner dies without heirs or when heirs cannot be located. If someone dies without a will and there are no surviving relatives who can be identified or found, the property reverts to the state so it isn’t left ownerless. This is different from eminent domain, where the government takes private property for public use with compensation, and from vacancy or abandonment scenarios that involve different legal processes.