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 Mississippi, if a person dies intestate (without a will) and has no identifiable heirs, the property of the deceased may escheat to the state, meaning it reverts to state ownership. This is in accordance with the common law doctrine of escheat, which has been codified into state statutes. Mississippi law provides a process for the state to take ownership of such property to ensure it does not remain ownerless. The Mississippi Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act governs the treatment of unclaimed or abandoned property. There is a provision for a dormancy period, after which unclaimed property is presumed abandoned and must be turned over to the state. Heirs or other rightful owners may have a period during which they can come forward to claim the escheated property before it permanently becomes state property. The specific rules and procedures, including the time allowed for reclaiming property, are detailed in the state's statutes.