What is an Escheat?
Simply put, an escheat is the succession of abandoned property to the State. It is commonly associated with properties that come from an estate of a person dying without a will and without any known heirs. However, this concept has been broadened to include the recovery of any property that results from the failure of a person legally entitled to that property to make a valid claim against the holder of the property within a prescribed period of time. Consequently, the terms escheat and unclaimed property are used interchangeably.
An escheat is the succession of abandoned property to the State. It is commonly associated with properties that come from an estate of a person dying without a will and without any known heirs. However, this concept has been broadened to include the recovery of any property that results from the failure of a person legally entitled to that property to make a valid claim against the holder of the property within a prescribe period of time. Consequently, the terms escheat and unclaimed property are used interchangeably.