The power of the state to claim property when the owner dies without a will...

Escheat is the government’s power to take title to property when someone dies intestate (without a will) and no heirs or creditors can be found. This differs from eminent domain (the government’s power to take private property for public use with just compensation) and from a taking (the act under eminent domain). A life estate is a private freehold interest measured by a person’s lifetime, not a government power. These core definitions are covered in the Real Property and the Law module.