Escheat in Illinois: when property passes to government

No will, but a descendant

An unmarried owner dies intestate, leaving one living adult child legally entitled to inherit. The house was solely owned and no other transfer arrangement applies.

1. The estate has an eligible statutory descendant.
2. Section 2-1(b) supplies a succession route, subject to administration and valid estate claims.

Answer: The no-will fact does not make the house escheat.

A will does not dispose of everything

A valid will disposes of some assets but, on the stipulated facts, leaves one parcel undisposed of, with no controlling residue or other transfer. A legally entitled intestate heir exists.

1. Section 4-14 treats property not bequeathed by the will as intestate estate.
2. The parcel follows its applicable succession rules; the mere existence of the will does not resolve it.

Answer: Apply intestacy to that parcel. The facts do not establish escheat.

A capable nonrelative takes

A properly admitted valid will effectively gives the parcel to a legally capable charitable recipient. No disqualification or other competing issue is assumed. The decedent has no known relatives.

1. The facts supply an effective testamentary disposition.
2. No known relatives does not mean no lawful recipient.

Answer: The stipulated valid gift prevents treating this interest as ownerless merely because family is absent.

Residence and parcel location differ

An intestate decedent lived in Cook County and owned land in Lake County. After proper investigation, there is no surviving spouse or known kindred, and the ordinary section 2-1(h) rule applies.

1. The land is Illinois real estate.
2. The county of the parcel's location is the statutory recipient; residence does not substitute for situs.

Answer: The parcel escheats to Lake County under the applicable process.

An empty home is not a title opinion

An owner is alive but cannot be reached. The house is empty and taxes are delinquent. A neighbor has the keys.

1. The facts do not establish death or the ordinary no-successor conditions.
2. Keys, vacancy and overdue taxes do not prove a transfer by escheat or authority to sign a deed.

Answer: Investigate title and the actual applicable process. Do not list the neighbor as owner based on these facts.

A surviving joint tenant

The stipulated title is a valid, unsevered joint tenancy with survivorship. One tenant dies without a will or known relatives and the other survives.

1. A valid survivorship path controls the stated interest.
2. The absence of a will or family does not automatically put it into the intestate estate.

Answer: The supplied survivorship facts, rather than escheat, govern. Actual title validity still matters in a real transaction.

A later land claim needs more than a family story

Two years after a county vesting judgment, a person produces evidence of a possible lawful claim. The person was not served and did not appear.

1. Section 7 provides a possible land-petition route, subject to all its eligibility and proof conditions.
2. Exclusions also reach the heirs or assigns of served or appearing parties; being personally unserved does not answer every case.
3. A court must determine entitlement; no broker can promise that the judgment is void or that the parcel will return.

Answer: Review the actual judgment, service history, basis of claim and statutory route promptly with qualified counsel.

The asset is a reported account

An owner is alive. A bank account has been reported to the Illinois Treasurer as unclaimed property, and the owner seeks it through I-Cash.

1. The Treasurer describes this program as custodial holding for owners or heirs.
2. This does not establish a county escheat judgment on real estate or require the account owner to have died without kindred.

Answer: Distinguish the custodial account claim from the land-title doctrine. No individual search or claim is performed in this lesson.

1. An Illinois owner dies without a will but has a legally entitled surviving child. What follows?

1. Intestacy applies before the no-successor escheat rule
2. The property becomes a public road
3. The child must buy the house from the state
4. The county automatically owns the house

2. Under the ordinary Illinois section 2-1(h) rule, which government receives real estate when there is no spouse or known kindred?

1. The county where the parcel is located
2. Always the federal government
3. The listing municipality automatically
4. Always the county of the decedent's residence

3. A decedent lived in Cook County but the qualifying intestate land is in Lake County. The no-spouse/no-known-kindred rule applies. Which county is the real-estate recipient?

1. Cook County
2. Sangamon County in every case
3. Whichever county the broker prefers
4. Lake County

4. What is the effect of a will that does not dispose of a parcel, with no controlling residue or other transfer?

1. Every provision of the will becomes void
2. The parcel must remain ownerless
3. The undisposed-of interest can pass as intestate estate
4. The county automatically takes despite an eligible heir

5. Which fact alone proves that the county owns a house by escheat?

1. The property taxes are overdue
2. The grass is overgrown
3. No one answered the door
4. None of these outward conditions

6. A valid admitted will gives the parcel to a capable nonrelative. What does the absence of relatives establish by itself?

1. It does not defeat the stipulated valid testamentary gift
2. It forces a tax sale
3. It defeats every nonrelative gift
4. It converts the gift into eminent domain

7. What distinguishes escheat from eminent domain?

1. Failure of lawful succession or ownership, rather than a public-use taking or damaging with just compensation
2. Eminent domain never involves public use
3. Escheat is a mortgage interest payment
4. Escheat is always a voluntary market sale

8. Who files the county complaint described by Escheats Act section 3 when its conditions are met?

1. Any neighbor with keys
2. The county State's Attorney
3. The listing broker
4. The mortgage appraiser

9. What is the ordinary five-year trigger for the section 7 land-petition route, subject to its other conditions?

1. The decedent's last mortgage payment
2. The judgment vesting county title
3. The last lawn mowing
4. The date an heir first hears a rumor

10. Which statement about the section 7 land-petition exclusions is accurate?

1. An appearance in the original proceeding never matters
2. Everyone can use the route merely by alleging heirship
3. The provision excludes served or appearing parties and their heirs or assigns
4. Only people who personally received no notice ever have an unlimited claim

11. What ordinary period does section 7 specify for its county-treasury money claim, before considering applicable qualifications?

1. Five years after every bank report
2. Ten years after the first family inquiry
3. Unlimited time for every county-money claim
4. Ten years after the intestate's death

12. Which statement best describes the I-Cash distinction?

1. The Treasurer describes custodial assets claimable by owners or heirs; that is not a county land-title judgment
2. Every I-Cash owner must first die without relatives
3. Its account claims always use the section 7 land deadline
4. It automatically transfers every vacant house to the state

13. The county sold the land after seizure. A claimant obtains the required successful order under section 7. What does that section provide in this situation?

1. No possible remedy because a sale occurred
2. Sale proceeds in lieu of the land
3. Automatic return of the parcel in every case
4. A guaranteed award of interest and litigation costs