What is the exam-ready distinction?
| Official syllabus topic | Property Ownership: Government Powers; Eminent Domain and Escheat |
|---|---|
| Official PSI area | Property Ownership |
| Published weight | 10% of the 100-question national portion |
| Source edition | PSI Georgia Candidate Information Bulletin dated July 1, 2026 |
The Rule
PSI publishes a weight for the complete official area, not a guaranteed count for this individual comparison. Use the source, document, actor, event, and timing stated in the question before applying a memorized definition.
Side-by-side comparison
Read across each row. The terms are deliberately compared on identical dimensions so the difference remains clear when the exam hides the vocabulary inside a scenario.
| Decision dimension | Eminent domain | Condemnation | Escheat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature | Government power to take private property for public use with required compensation | Legal process used to exercise eminent domain | State succession when an owner dies without a valid will or legal heirs |
| Trigger | Public-use taking | Filing and adjudication or authorized taking procedure | No lawful successor |
| Payment | Just compensation is constitutionally required | Process determines authority and compensation | Not a purchase or taking for public use |
| Exam clue | Power | Procedure | Death without heirs |
Decision rule
Georgia-specific distinction
Worked example
Scenario. A county files a court action to acquire a strip of land for a road and determine compensation.
Reason it through. The county relies on eminent-domain power, while the filed proceeding is the condemnation process.
Answer. Eminent domain is the power and condemnation is the procedure being used.
Common exam traps
- Using eminent domain and condemnation as identical labels
- Calling tax foreclosure escheat
- Forgetting just compensation
- Applying escheat when a legal heir exists
Original practice questions with detailed explanations
These are original instructional questions mapped to the July 1, 2026 PSI outline. They are not copied from PSI or any live examination. Choose an answer before opening the explanation.
Question 1A county files a court action to acquire a strip of private land for a road widening and to set the owner's compensation. What is the county's court action called?
- A. Condemnation
- B. Escheat
- C. Eminent domain
- D. Police power
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: A. Condemnation
Eminent domain is the government's power to take private property for public use, and condemnation is the legal procedure used to exercise it. The county's lawsuit is the procedure. Choosing eminent domain names the power rather than the process the question asks about.
Question 2A property owner dies with no valid will and no legal heirs. What happens to the land?
- A. It is condemned, and the state pays the estate
- B. It passes to the state by escheat for lack of heirs
- C. It goes to the county through a tax sale
- D. It becomes open to the first person to claim it
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: B. It passes to the state by escheat for lack of heirs
Escheat is the state's acquisition of property when an owner dies without a valid will or legal heirs, and no one is left to inherit here. Condemnation is wrong because escheat is not a taking for public use and involves no purchase.
Question 3Which statement about just compensation is correct?
- A. It is paid in escheat because the state receives the property
- B. It is optional when the taking is for a public road
- C. It is required when government takes land by eminent domain
- D. It is owed only if the owner first agrees to sell
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: C. It is required when government takes land by eminent domain
Just compensation is constitutionally required when government takes private property for public use, and the condemnation process decides authority and the amount. Escheat pays nothing, because the state is not buying or taking anything; it receives property no one else can inherit.
Ready to move on?
You have this distinction down when all of these are true.
- Define every compared term without using the other term as the definition.
- Rebuild the comparison table from memory.
- State the decision rule and Georgia distinction without notes.
- Solve the worked example after changing one key fact.
- Explain the rule or fact that makes each distractor wrong.
- Answer all three original questions correctly in mixed practice on a later day.
Recommended next lesson
Continue with Police Power Versus Taxation Versus Eminent Domain Versus Escheat. The next page adds the other two government rights to this pair, police power, which regulates use without taking title, and taxation, which can create a lien, so you can sort all four with the PETE memory aid.
Return to the complete exam-concept library or the Property Ownership hub.