If a person dies without a will (intestate)—and with no heirs (relatives or descendants)—ownership of the deceased person’s (decedent’s) property may be transferred to (or said to revert to) the state government (usually the state treasury) through the common law doctrine of escheat. In addition to enriching the state treasury (or the Lord in feudal England), escheat prevents property from remaining in limbo with no rightful owner.

A state’s common law is comprised of court opinions written by judges to resolve disputes and most states adopted the legal doctrine of escheat from the English common law (from England) soon after the founding of the United States and each state’s admission to the union. But in more recent years many state legislatures have defined the law of escheat in their state’s statutes—making it statutory law—which is also known as codifying the law, because it is then part of a code or statute.

The property subject to escheat laws is sometimes referred to or classified as unclaimed or abandoned property. Upon transfer to the government the unclaimed or abandoned property may be referred to as escheated property. And in some states there may be a period (a statute of limitations) in which heirs or rightful owners of the property may be able to reclaim escheated property.

Escheat laws vary from state to state and often depend on the nature of the asset involved (personal property, real property, bank account, brokerage account).

In Kentucky, if a person dies without a will (intestate) and has no identifiable heirs, the property of the deceased (decedent) may escheat, or revert, to the state government. This process is governed by Kentucky's escheat laws, which were derived from English common law and have since been codified into state statutes. The purpose of escheat is to prevent property from being ownerless and to potentially enrich the state's treasury. Kentucky law specifies that unclaimed or abandoned property, which includes assets like personal property, real estate, and financial accounts, can become escheated property. The state holds this property, and there is typically a period during which potential heirs or rightful owners can come forward to claim the escheated property before it permanently becomes state property. The specific rules and timeframes for claiming escheated property in Kentucky are outlined in the state's statutes, and they can vary depending on the type of property in question.