Escheat exists primarily to ensure that:

Real property never lacks an owner

Abandoned buildings are demolished

States collect inheritance taxes

An owner dies leaving a valid will that devises her house to a cousin. The house will:

Pass to the cousin under the will

Escheat to the state, because escheat applies to all decedents

Be sold by the state and the proceeds paid to the cousin

A person dies without a will, leaving a surviving spouse and two children. Title passes by:

Intestate succession under state law

All of the following transfer title involuntarily EXCEPT:

A conveyance by general warranty deed at a negotiated closing

A condemnation proceeding under eminent domain

Title vesting in an occupant through adverse possession

A foreclosure sale following default

Exam vocabulary · government power over real estate

What Is Escheat in Real Estate?

Definition

Escheat is the government power that transfers ownership of property to the state when an owner dies intestate (without a will) and leaves no discoverable heirs, or when property is legally abandoned. It exists so that real estate is never left without an owner.

How the exam tests escheat

These mirror the phrasing you will see on test day. Answer them, then read the explanation whether or not you got it right.

Escheat: exam questions1/8

Property ownership

A property owner dies without a will, and the probate court's search locates no heirs. What happens to the property?

score 0/0

Every escheat question, answered

Every question above with its correct answer and the reasoning behind it. Read the explanations for the ones you answered correctly too. A lucky guess and knowing the rule look identical on a score report. These are sample questions from our larger bank.

1. A property owner dies without a will, and the probate court's search locates no heirs. What happens to the property?
- AIt becomes subject to adverse possession
- BIt is auctioned to the highest bidder
- CIt escheats to the statecorrect
- DIt passes to the county by eminent domain
Why: With no will and no heirs, the property escheats to the state. Eminent domain is a taking for public use with compensation — a different power entirely.
Property ownership
2. Escheat exists primarily to ensure that:
- AHeirs are located quickly
- BAbandoned buildings are demolished
- CStates collect inheritance taxes
- DReal property never lacks an ownercorrect
Why: The purpose of escheat is that property is never ownerless — someone must always hold title, even if that someone ends up being the state.
Property ownership
3. Which of the following is NOT one of the four government powers over real estate?
- AEscheat
- BTaxation
- CNovationcorrect
- DPolice power
Why: The four powers are Police power, Eminent domain, Taxation and Escheat (PETE). Novation is a contract concept — substituting a new party or agreement.
Property ownership
4. An owner dies leaving a valid will that devises her house to a cousin. The house will:
- APass by intestate succession
- BEscheat to the state, because escheat applies to all decedents
- CPass to the cousin under the willcorrect
- DBe sold by the state and the proceeds paid to the cousin
Why: Escheat applies only when there is no will AND no heirs. A valid devise defeats it entirely — a common exam trap that swaps testate for intestate.
Property ownership
5. A person dies without a will, leaving a surviving spouse and two children. Title passes by:
- AEscheat to the state
- BIntestate succession under state lawcorrect
- CAdverse possession
- DDevise
Why: With no will but living heirs, the estate passes by intestate succession according to the state’s statutory order. Escheat applies only when there is no will AND no heirs.
Transfer of title
6. An owner dies leaving no valid will and no locatable heirs. Title passes to the state through:
- AEminent domain
- BReversion
- CPartition
- DEscheatcorrect
Why: Escheat keeps property from becoming ownerless by vesting it in the state when there is no will and no heir can be found. Reversion returns property to a private grantor rather than to the state.
Property ownership
7. An owner dies leaving no valid will and no locatable heirs. Title to the real property passes to the state through:
- ACondemnation
- BEscheatcorrect
- CPartition
- DEminent domain
Why: "Escheat" prevents property from being ownerless by vesting it in the state when there is no will and no heir. Eminent domain is different because it involves a taking for public use with compensation paid to a living owner.
Transfer of title
8. All of the following transfer title involuntarily EXCEPT:
- AA condemnation proceeding under eminent domain
- BTitle vesting in an occupant through adverse possession
- CA conveyance by general warranty deed at a negotiated closingcorrect
- DA foreclosure sale following default
Why: Only "A conveyance by general warranty deed at a negotiated closing" happens by the choice of the owner, making it voluntary alienation. Foreclosure, condemnation, and occupancy ripening into title all strip the owner of title without consent.
Transfer of title

Where escheat sits in the exam vocabulary

Escheat is a government power over real estate, and so are police power, eminent domain and taxation. That matters more than it sounds: a multiple-choice item builds its wrong answers out of siblings like these, because they are the options that look plausible to someone who has learned the category but not the distinction. If escheat appears as the correct answer, expect to see police power and eminent domain on the same screen.

The exam most often tries to catch you by putting escheat next to eminent domain and adverse possession. Each of those is a real concept sitting close enough to be tempting, and the question usually turns on the single feature that separates them rather than on the definition of either one. Read the contrast, not the term.

Words that mean escheat, but only sometimes

These are conditional synonyms. Each one is interchangeable with escheat in the context stated beside it and misleading everywhere else, which is precisely the kind of distinction an exam item is built on.

unclaimed property: equivalent to escheat in abandoned-property only, NOT the no-heirs case.

Related exam terms

Tested alongside

Often confused with

Escheat belongs to the government power over real estate family of exam concepts. When it is solid, take the free real estate exam prep or browse the full real estate exam vocabulary.