Es*cheat" (?), n. [OE. eschete,
escheyte, an escheat, fr. OF. escheit, escheoit,
escheeite, esheoite, fr. escheoir (F.
échoir) 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.]
1. (Law) (a) (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. (b) (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.
&fist; 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.
(c) A writ, now abolished, to recover
escheats from the person in possession.
Blackstone.
2. Lands which fall to the lord or the State
by escheat.
3. That which falls to one; a reversion or
return
To make me great by others' loss is bad
escheat.
Spenser.
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.
&fist; 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.
Es*cheat", v. t. (Law) To
forfeit. Bp. Hall.
