Escheat explained: what the word means and how it differs from unclaimed property
Escheatment is the power of a state to take custody of property deemed abandoned.1 In the strict legal sense the state becomes the owner, as when someone dies with no heirs.2 When a bank or company sends a dormant account to the state, people call that escheat too, but under the uniform acts the state only takes custody and holds the property for its owner, who can still claim it.2
On this page
- Escheat in the old sense passes ownership to the state; unclaimed property laws only give the state custody.2
- California says property it receives under its unclaimed property law "shall not permanently escheat",3 and Florida says it acts "solely as a custodian".4
- The estate of a person who dies without a will or heirs can truly escheat, land included; Delaware and Florida have their own procedures for it.56
- Escheat of an estate can have a time limit: 10 years in Florida6 and Kansas.7
- Claiming unclaimed property from the state program is free.8
What escheat means
The Supreme Court defines escheatment as “the power of a State, as a sovereign, to take custody of property deemed abandoned”.1 The word is still part of official titles: Delaware has an “Escheator of the State”,5 and its unclaimed property law speaks of the “State Escheator”.11
Where the word comes from
The Uniform Law Commission, which drafts the model unclaimed property acts, traces the word to English law. After the Norman Conquest all land in England belonged to the Crown; if a tenant was convicted of a felony or died without an heir who could take over, the land escheated to the sovereign.2 The official who collected escheated property was called the Escheator, “a term still in use today”.2 Over time the idea was extended to other tangible property and to intangible property, and the modern idea of a state taking custody of unclaimed property to hold for its owners developed from it.2
Escheat and unclaimed property are not the same
The Commission calls unclaimed property “a modern outgrowth of the English law of escheat”, and says the two terms are “somewhat improperly used interchangeably”.2 The difference is who owns the property afterwards.
| Escheat in the strict sense | Unclaimed property | |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns it afterwards | The state becomes the legal owner2 | Legal title stays with the owner or the owner’s heirs2 |
| What the state does | Keeps it, with no obligation to return it2 | Holds it indefinitely as custodian for the owner2 |
| Typical case | Estate of a person who dies without a will and without legal heirs2 | Uncashed paychecks, stocks or safe deposit box contents turned over after the dormancy period9 |
Every uniform unclaimed property act has been a custodial act,2 and the 2016 revised act avoids the word “escheat” for the state taking custody.2 A resolution of the National Association of State Treasurers notes that the uniform acts have repeatedly recognized that states do not take title to unclaimed property but take custody of it and hold it in perpetuity for the owner.10
State laws say it in their own words:
- California: property the state receives under its unclaimed property law “shall not permanently escheat to the state”.3
- Florida: reported property “remains the property of the owner”, and the state “acts solely as a custodian, not as the owner”.4
- Delaware: the notice a business must send says the property “will be transferred to the custody of the State Escheator”.11
The everyday use of the word has not gone away. Connecticut’s Treasurer, for example, reports holding “$1.7 billion in escheated property” for about 11.3 million identified owners.12
When an estate escheats
The strict kind of escheat still applies to estates. Under the common law of escheat as written into state law, when an owner dies without a will and without legal heirs entitled to inherit, the property escheats and the state takes title as its owner.2 Who counts as a legal heir is decided by each state’s law.2 It can cover land and houses as well as money: Delaware’s law applies to real and personal estate.5
| State | What happens |
|---|---|
| Delaware | Real or personal estate of a person who dies without a will, heirs or known kindred escheats to the state.5 The Escheator files suit in the Court of Chancery;5 if the court finds real property has escheated, the state may lease it or keep it with the Governor’s approval, and otherwise sells it at public auction.5 A person who did not take part in the hearing or receive actual notice of it has 2 years from the sale to file a claim.5 |
| Florida | A part of an estate that no survivor is entitled to escheats to the state; the property is sold and the proceeds go to the State School Fund.6 A person entitled to the proceeds can reopen the administration within 10 years after they are paid to the Chief Financial Officer; after that the state’s rights become absolute.6 |
| Kansas | Assets of a person who dies without a will or apparent heirs go through the Treasurer’s office to the Department of Revenue, which holds the money in a special fund for 10 years; after that it cannot be claimed.7 |
These rules sit outside the ordinary unclaimed property program: Kansas, for example, lists such estates as an exception to its unclaimed property act.7 Ordinary unclaimed property left by a relative is claimed through the state program instead; the deceased relative guide explains how.
When unclaimed property can truly escheat
A few laws let a state take title to property that started out as unclaimed property:
- U.S. savings bonds. In West Virginia, bonds unclaimed for five years after final maturity can escheat to the state one year after they are presumed abandoned, and legal title and ownership then vest in the state.13 If no claim is filed within 180 days after a bond becomes reportable, Pennsylvania’s Treasurer can ask the Commonwealth Court to declare it escheated,14 and a person can still file a claim for escheated bonds or their proceeds afterwards.14
- Guam. Dormant bank funds transferred to the Treasurer of Guam escheat to the government of Guam one year after the transfer.15 The same section also says the rightful owner may claim them at any time with proof of their right.15
- Property of the state itself. In Delaware, property that the State Escheator reasonably believes belongs to a state agency escheats to the General Fund and cannot be claimed.11
The claim deadline table shows, state by state, whether owners face any time limit.
How property comes to be escheated
For accounts and other financial property, the process starts with the business that holds it. After a set period with no activity or contact, the dormancy period, the property becomes unclaimed and by law must be turned over to the state.9 State law can require the business to write to the owner first. Delaware, for example, requires a notice by first-class mail 60 to 120 days before the report when the business has a usable address and the property is worth $50 or more or is a security;11 see why you got a letter. The periods for each type of property are in the dormancy table.
Which state receives it is set by Supreme Court rules. The first choice is the state of the owner’s last known address in the business’s records. If the address is unknown, or that state has no law letting it take custody, the property goes to the business’s state of incorporation.1 Money orders and similar instruments generally go to the state where they were bought, under a federal law; in 2023 the Court held that this law also covers MoneyGram’s agent checks and teller’s checks.1
Maine forbids a holder to deduct an “escheat fee” or similar charge just because the property has to be reported.16 Businesses can find their reporting duties in the business guide.
Escheat, eminent domain and forfeiture
These are three different things. The Uniform Law Commission explains that, apart from taxes and fees, a state can take title to a citizen’s property only by condemnation for public use, which requires fair compensation (eminent domain), by forfeiture for wrongdoing, or by escheat.2
Getting escheated property back
Under the uniform acts, property a business sends to a state is held for its owner,2 and claiming it through the official program of the state that holds it is free.8 The list of states links to each state’s official program, and the claim guide walks through the steps.
Questions people ask
What does escheat mean in simple terms?
The Supreme Court describes escheatment as the power of a state, as a sovereign, to take custody of property deemed abandoned.1 In the strict, older sense, escheat means the state becomes the legal owner of the property.2
What is the difference between escheat and escheatment?
Both words are used for the same idea. The Supreme Court calls the power "escheatment" and uses "escheat" as the verb, as when it says which state property should escheat to.1 The Uniform Law Commission notes that "escheated" and "unclaimed" are also sometimes used interchangeably, although the two terms are not the same.2
Can you get escheated money back?
Under the uniform acts, property a business turns over to the state stays the owner's, and the state holds it as custodian.2 Claiming it through the official program of the state holding it is free.8 Estates that escheat because there are no heirs are different and can have time limits, such as 10 years in Florida.6
What happens to real estate when someone dies without a will or heirs?
It can escheat to the state. In Delaware a court decides whether the property has escheated; the state may then lease it or keep it, and otherwise sells it at public auction.5 In Florida escheated property is sold and the proceeds go to the State School Fund.6
Is escheat the same as eminent domain?
No. The Uniform Law Commission lists them as separate ways a state can take title to private property: condemnation for public use, for which it must pay fair compensation, forfeiture for wrongdoing, and escheat.2
Sources
Footnote numbers point here. Open "Quoted text" for the exact words relied on ("[…]" marks words left out).
- Delaware v. Pennsylvania, 598 U.S. 115 (2023), opinion of the Court Supreme Court of the United States · supremecourt.gov · Decided Feb. 28, 2023 · checked Nov. 3, 2026
Quoted text (6)
“Escheatment” is the power of a State, as a sovereign, to take custody of property deemed abandoned.
should escheat “to the State of the creditor's last known address as shown by the debtor's books and records.”
adopted a secondary rule to apply in those circumstances; namely, that the proceeds should escheat to the debtor's State of incorporation.
because the State that is entitled to escheatment under the primary rule did not have a law empowering it to take custody of the proceeds.
Agent Checks and Teller's Checks (collectively, Disputed Instruments)
We hold that the FDA covers the instruments in question and thus that they should generally escheat to the State of purchase, pursuant to § 2503.
- Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (2016), with prefatory note and comments (PDF) Uniform Law Commission · uniformlaws.org · Approved July 2016 · checked Nov. 3, 2026
Quoted text (14)
The concept of “unclaimed property” is a modern outgrowth of the English law of escheat, and while the two concepts have substantial differences they are somewhat improperly used interchangeably.
Although rooted in the doctrine of escheat, since inception all of the Uniform Unclaimed Property Acts have been “custodial” acts which deal with the right of states to take custody of abandoned property to hold indefinitely for the benefit of the owner, which is different from a state taking title to and ownership of abandoned property under its escheat law.
Since the Norman Conquest all real property in England has belonged to the Crown who could give the use of it to a tenant, but if the tenant was convicted of a felony or died without an heir who could take the tenancy, it escheated to the sovereign to keep or give to another as he or she saw fit.
The official in charge of collecting escheated property was called the Escheator, a term still in use today.
Over time the concept has been extended to tangible and intangible personal property, and in modern times the concept of custodial taking of unclaimed property by the sovereign to hold for the benefit of owners has developed.
the terms “escheated” and “unclaimed” have sometimes come to be used interchangeably, the two terms are not the same.
In an escheat the state succeeds to legal ownership of the property.
When property has “escheated,” the state has become the legal owner of the property with no obligation to return it to the previous owner or to anyone claiming to have derived title from or through the previous owner.
But in the case of unclaimed property, after it is out of the hands of the holder and in the hands of the state, legal title to the unclaimed property remains in the owner, or in those deriving title from or through the previous owner.
The state merely holds possession of the property, indefinitely, as custodian for the benefit of the owner or the previous owner’s successors-in-interest or legal heirs.
Under the common law of escheat as codified into state law, if an owner of property dies intestate without “legal heirs” entitled to inherit the property, the property escheats to the state and the state takes title to the property as its owner.
Whether there are any “legal heirs” of the decedent is determined under the laws of each state.
To that end this revised Act avoids the use of the term “escheat” to refer to the process by which a state takes custody of, but not title to, unclaimed property for the benefit of its owner.
Otherwise a state is without legal authority to seize and take title to property belonging to a citizen other than by condemnation or seizure for public use for which it must pay fair compensation, forfeiture for wrongdoing, or by escheat.
- Unclaimed Property Law and Regulations (Code of Civil Procedure 1500-1582) (PDF) California State Controller's Office · sco.ca.gov · February 2026 · checked Nov. 3, 2026
Quoted text (1)
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, property received by the state under this chapter shall not permanently escheat to the state.
- Chapter 717, Florida Statutes (2026), Florida Disposition of Abandoned Personal Property Act The Florida Legislature · leg.state.fl.us · 2026 Florida Statutes · checked Nov. 3, 2026
Quoted text (1)
It is the intent of the Legislature that property reported under this chapter remains the property of the owner and that the State of Florida acts solely as a custodian, not as the owner, of such property.
- Delaware Code Title 12, Chapter 11, Subchapter I. Escheat of Intestate Property Delaware General Assembly (Delaware Code Online) · delcode.delaware.gov · checked Nov. 3, 2026
Quoted text (6)
If any person, being at the time of death seized or possessed of any real or personal estate within this State, dies intestate, without heirs or any known kindred who can inherit and hold the intestate’s estate, such estate is escheat to the State, subject to all legal demands on the same.
There shall be an Escheator of the State, who shall be the Secretary of Finance or the Secretary’s delegate.
shall cause to be filed a suit in the Court of Chancery of the State in the county wherein such property is located
If, after hearing under this subchapter, the Court finds that real property has escheated to the State, the Escheator, subject to the approval of the Governor, may lease such property upon a reasonable rent therefor, or retain such property for the benefit and use of the State.
If the real property is not leased or retained, the Escheator shall sell such property, at public auction, upon like public notice as required by law for the sale of lands under execution process.
Any person who did not participate in or receive actual notice of the hearing provided by § 1104 of this title shall have the right within 2 years of the date of sale of any property under this subchapter to file a claim by way of petition in the Court of Chancery, to all or any portion of the escheated property.
- Florida Statutes s. 732.107, Escheat (2025) The Florida Senate · flsenate.gov · 2025 Florida Statutes · checked Nov. 3, 2026
Quoted text (3)
(1) When a person dies leaving an estate without being survived by any person entitled to a part of it, that part shall escheat to the state.
(2) Property that escheats shall be sold as provided in the Florida Probate Rules and the proceeds paid to the Chief Financial Officer of the state and deposited in the State School Fund.
(3) At any time within 10 years after the payment to the Chief Financial Officer, a person claiming to be entitled to the proceeds may reopen the administration to assert entitlement to the proceeds. If no claim is timely asserted, the state’s rights to the proceeds shall become absolute.
- Exceptions to the Unclaimed Property Act (PDF) Kansas State Treasurer · missingmoney.ks.gov · checked Nov. 3, 2026
Quoted text (2)
Assets of a person who dies without a will or apparent heirs. According to K.S.A. 59-514 and 59-901 thru 59-905, this property is turned over to the Treasurer’s office for the Kansas Department of Revenue.
KDOR holds money in a special fund for 10 years then it reverts to the state general fund. The money cannot be claimed after 10 years.
- Claim Your Found Property National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) · unclaimed.org · checked Nov. 3, 2026
Quoted text (1)
Both searching for and claiming your unclaimed property are free, provided you go through the official government program of the state holding the property.
- What is unclaimed property? National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) · unclaimed.org · checked Nov. 3, 2026
Quoted text (2)
After a designated period of time (called the dormancy period) with no activity or contact, the property becomes “unclaimed” and—by law—must be turned over to the state.
Unclaimed property can be intangible, which is the most common (ex. uncashed paychecks, stocks), or tangible (ex. safe deposit box contents).
- Resolution: Preserving the right of owners to recover unclaimed property from states in perpetuity (PDF) National Association of State Treasurers (NAST) · nast.org · checked Nov. 3, 2026
Quoted text (1)
WHEREAS, the Uniform Unclaimed Property Acts adopted by the Uniform Law Commission have repeatedly recognized that states do not take title to unclaimed property but, instead, take custody of the property and hold it in perpetuity for the owner; and
- Delaware Code Title 12, Chapter 11, Subchapter II. Unclaimed Property Delaware General Assembly (Delaware Code Online) · delcode.delaware.gov · checked Nov. 3, 2026
Quoted text (4)
by first-class United States mail, not more than 120 days nor less than 60 days before filing the report under § 1142 of this title
(2) The value of the property is $50 or more, unless the property is a security, in which case the holder must send notice to the owner regardless of the value of the property.
“Notice. The State of Delaware requires us to notify you that your property will be transferred to the custody of the State Escheator if you do not contact us before [insert date that is 30 days after the date of this notice.]”
Property presumed abandoned where the State Escheator reasonably believes the owner is an agency of the State or a discretely presented component unit included in the annual comprehensive financial report of the State shall escheat to the State and be deposited into the General Fund pursuant to § 1163(a) of this title and shall not be claimable under § 1165 of this title.
- 2025 Annual Report of the Treasurer (fiscal year ended June 30, 2025) (PDF) Connecticut Office of the Treasurer · portal.ct.gov · Fiscal year ended June 30, 2025 · checked Nov. 3, 2026
Quoted text (1)
As of June 30, 2025, the Unclaimed Property database contains $1.7 billion in escheated property for approximately 11.3 million identified owners.
- W. Va. Code §36-8-2a. Escheat of United States savings bonds West Virginia Legislature · code.wvlegislature.gov · checked Nov. 3, 2026
Quoted text (2)
(2) The United States savings bond has remained unclaimed and unredeemed for a period of five years after final maturity.
escheat to the State of West Virginia one year after such bonds are presumed abandoned, and all property rights and legal title to, and ownership of, the United States savings bonds or proceeds from the bonds, including all rights, powers and privileges of survivorship of any owner, co-owner, or beneficiary, shall vest solely in the State of West Virginia
- The Fiscal Code, Article XIII.1 (72 P.S. § 1301.1 et seq.) Pennsylvania General Assembly · palegis.us · Latest Article XIII.1 amendment shown: July 17, 2024 · checked Nov. 3, 2026
Quoted text (2)
Within one hundred eighty (180) days after becoming reportable as unclaimed property pursuant to section 1301.10(1), if no claim has been filed in accordance with the provisions of section 1301.19 for a United States savings bond, the State Treasurer may commence a civil action in Commonwealth Court for a determination that the United States savings bond shall escheat to the Commonwealth.
Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a person making a claim for United States savings bonds escheated to the Commonwealth under this section, or for the proceeds from the bonds, may file a claim with the State Treasurer.
- 11 GCA Chapter 106, Banks (§ 106119 Dormant and Inactive Accounts and Unclaimed Funds) (PDF) Compiler of Laws, Judiciary of Guam · col.guamcourts.gov · April 22, 2025 · checked Nov. 3, 2026
Quoted text (2)
(k) All funds transferred to the Treasurer of Guam pursuant to the provisions of this Section shall escheat to the government of Guam one (1) year subsequent to the date such transfers occurred.
Such sums may be claimed at any time by the rightful owner or owners of such sums upon furnishing proof satisfactory to the Treasurer of Guam of their right to such funds.
- 33 M.R.S. §2112 Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes · legislature.maine.gov · checked Nov. 3, 2026
Quoted text (1)
A holder may not deduct an escheat fee, unclaimed property reporting fee or other similar charge imposed solely by virtue of the property becoming subject to reporting under this Act.