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Real estate glossaryNational exam concept

Escheat

Escheat is the state's acquisition of property when an owner dies without a valid will and no lawful heirs can be found.

Exam area: Transfer of Title

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What does “escheat” mean in real estate?

Escheat is the state's acquisition of property when an owner dies without a valid will and no lawful heirs can be found. It prevents property from remaining ownerless.

How is “escheat” different from the closest wrong answer?

Escheat concerns death without heirs. Eminent domain is a government taking for public use with just compensation.

What is the Georgia-specific rule?

The concept appears in the national ownership and transfer curriculum. Georgia law supplies the local succession procedure, but the exam distinction remains death without heirs versus a public-use taking.

Worked exam example

Scenario

An owner dies intestate, and the estate search identifies no person entitled to inherit. The property ultimately passes to the state.

What is the most common exam trap?

Trap correction

Dying without a will is not enough by itself. If legal heirs exist, intestate succession applies rather than escheat.

Original exam check

Apply the definition

A Georgia owner dies without a will. After a search, the estate locates one living niece who is entitled to inherit under Georgia law. What happens to the owner's land?

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Recommended next complete lesson

Continue with Transfer of Title complete lesson. It places this term inside the full rule, worked examples, exam traps, and mixed practice required for mastery.