escheat
noun [ U ]
LAW, PROPERTY uk/esˈtʃiːt/ usa situation in which property or money becomes the property of the state if the owner dies without a will (= an official statement of what should happen to their property) and without legal heirs (= a person who can receive property or money from someone who dies):
Whatever land is not actually owned by the public authority may be transferred to it by escheat.
property or money for which no owner can be found and for that reason becomes the property of the state:
Abandoned financial property, known as escheat, is one of the state's largest revenue sources
escheat
verb [ T ]
LAW, PROPERTY uk/esˈtʃiːt/ usto become the property of the state by escheat:
escheat to sth Because Thompson died without having made a will, his property escheats to the state.