Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1200-1300
Language: Old French
Origin: eschete, from escheoir 'to fall, be given to another', from Latin cadere 'to fall'

escheat

 noun
     
es‧cheat [countable] American English law
a legal process in which someone's money and property are given to the state after they die if they do not have a will, or if there is nobody else with a legal right to receive their money or property
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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