The legal process by which property reverts to the state when someone dies without a will and has no legal heirs. It also applies to abandoned property like unclaimed bank accounts.
From Old French 'escheoir' meaning 'to fall to' or 'to happen,' derived from Latin 'excadere.' In feudal times, land would 'fall back' to the lord when a tenant died without heirs, ensuring no land remained ownerless.
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