Crossword clues for escheat
escheat
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Escheat \Es*cheat"\, v. t. (Law)
To forfeit.
--Bp. Hall.
Escheat \Es*cheat"\, n. [OE. eschete, escheyte, an escheat, fr. OF. escheit, escheoit, escheeite, esheoite, fr. escheoir (F. ['e]choir) to fall to, fall to the lot of; pref. es- (L. ex) + cheoir, F. choir, to fall, fr. L. cadere. See Chance, and cf. Cheat.]
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(Law)
(Feud. & Eng. Law) The falling back or reversion of lands, by some casualty or accident, to the lord of the fee, in consequence of the extinction of the blood of the tenant, which may happen by his dying without heirs, and formerly might happen by corruption of blood, that is, by reason of a felony or attainder.
--Tomlins.
--Blackstone.-
(U. S. Law) The reverting of real property to the State, as original and ultimate proprietor, by reason of a failure of persons legally entitled to hold the same.
Note: A distinction is carefully made, by English writers, between escheat to the lord of the fee and forfeiture to the crown. But in this country, where the State holds the place of chief lord of the fee, and is entitled to take alike escheat and by forfeiture, this distinction is not essential.
--Tomlins. Kent. A writ, now abolished, to recover escheats from the person in possession.
--Blackstone.
Lands which fall to the lord or the State by escheat.
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That which falls to one; a reversion or return
To make me great by others' loss is bad escheat.
--Spenser.
Escheat \Es*cheat"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Esheated; p. pr. & vb. n. Escheating.] (Law) To revert, or become forfeited, to the lord, the crown, or the State, as lands by the failure of persons entitled to hold the same, or by forfeiture.
Note: In this country it is the general rule that when the
title to land fails by defect of heirs or devisees, it
necessarily escheats to the State; but forfeiture of
estate from crime is hardly known in this country, and
corruption of blood is universally abolished.
--Kent.
Bouvier.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
the reverting of land to a king or lord in certain cases, early 14c., from Anglo-French eschete (late 13c.), Old French eschete "succession, inheritance," literally "that which falls to one," noun use of fem. past participle of escheoir "happen, befall, occur, take place; fall due; lapse (legally)," from Late Latin *excadere "to fall out," from Latin ex- "out, away" (see ex-) + cadere "to fall" (see case (n.1)). As a verb, from late 14c. Related: Escheated; escheating. Late Latin *excadere represents a restored form of excidere, which yielded excise.
Wiktionary
n. 1 (context legal English) The return of property of a deceased person to the state (originally to a feudal lord) where there are no legal heirs or claimants. 2 (context legal English) The property so reverted. 3 (context obsolete English) plunder, booty. 4 That which falls to one; a reversion or return. vb. (context of property English) To revert to a state or lord because its previous owner died without an heir.
WordNet
n. a reversion to the state (as the ultimate owner of property) in the absence of legal heirs
the property that reverts to the state
Wikipedia
Escheat is a common law doctrine that transfers the property of a person who dies without heirs to the crown or state. It serves to ensure that property is not left in "limbo" without recognized ownership. It originally applied to a number of situations where a legal interest in land was destroyed by operation of law, so that the ownership of the land reverted to the immediately superior feudal lord.
Usage examples of "escheat".
As the will of the nation, in so far as it contravenes not the law of God or the law of nature, binds every individual of the nation, no individual or number of individuals has, or can have, any right to conspire against him, or to labor to oust him from his place, till his escheat has been pronounced by the voice of the nation.
His lands therefore escheat to me, yet I would not have him deposed, for as I said, he served my grandfather well.
To the high honor of Kentucky, as I am informed, she is the owner of some slaves by escheat, and has sold none, but liberated all.
The escheats were a great branch both of power and of revenue, especially during the first reigns after the conquest.
But besides escheats from default of heirs, those which ensued from crimes or breach of duty towards the superior lord were frequent in ancient times.
The copyhold was also subject to a variety of grievous taxes, which the lord had the privilege, upon many occasions, of imposing - such as aids, reliefs, primer seisin, wardship, escheats for felony and want of heirs, and many more, altogether so exorbitant and oppressive as often totally to ruin the tenant and rob him of almost all interest in his property.
Hence, the feudal baron is invested with his fief by the suzerain, holds it from him, and to him it escheats when forfeited or vacant.
Lawyers, indeed, tell us that the eminent domain is in the particular State, and that all escheats are to the State, not to the United States.
The Unionists without the State government, without any State organization, could not hold the domain, which, when the State organization is gone, escheats to the United States, that is to say, ceases to exist.
Steading escheats to the Sword, just as Strathson did seven hundred years ago.
He conferred on him the whole estate of William Peverell, which had escheated to the crown: he put him in possession of eight castles, with all the forests and honors annexed to them: he delivered over to him no less than six earldoms, Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Nottingham, Dorset, Lancaster and Derby.
Since many of them had died without heirs, much of this money escheated back to me as their duke.
Kierney to remain in a family that has at least some MacLean blood than to have the line totally extinguished, the Kierney lands escheated to the Crown, and the lands and titles handed over to someone who has absolutely no ties with the land, such as happened with Culdi.
Sometimes you almost wished for revolt, so that the estates of traitors could be escheated to the king.
Count Lambert had no right to threaten you with escheating your lands.