Escheated property refers to anything of value belonging to an individual who dies leaving no will and having no heirs thereby becoming the property of the State. The State becomes the owner simply because there is no other rightful claim to the property. For example, if the deceased owner had legitimate creditors, then the creditors would get paid before property escheated to the State.

NO!! This is a very common misperception. If you die without leaving a will, but you do have heirs, then in effect the State of Minnesota writes a will for you. See Minnesota Statutes, Section 524.2-101. If you die without a will and having a surviving spouse, then the spouse's share is determined by reference to Section 524.2-102. If you die without a will and having heirs in addition to or other than a spouse, then their share is determined by reference to Section 524.2-103.

Cash is deposited by the Treasury Division in the General Fund. All personal property is sold and the cash is added to the General Fund. Real Property is either sold, and the proceeds deposited in the General Fund, or is managed by the applicable State agency and becomes a part of the assets of the State. See M.S., Sec.11A.10, subd. 2.

Minnesota Statutes, Section 16A.013, provides that the "...Commissioner of Finance is authorized to receive and accept, on behalf of the state, any gift, bequest, devise, or endowment which may be made by any person, by will, deed, gift, or otherwise, to or for the benefit of the state, or any of its departments or agencies,...."

Escheated property is deemed to be included in the language.

        M.S. 16A.013
        See previous paragraph.

        M.S. 11A.04
        Paragraph (9) provides that the Minnesota State Board of Investment shall "Direct the Commissioner of Finance to sell property other than money that has escheated to the state when the board determines that sale of the property is in the best interests of the state. Escheated property must be sold to the highest bidder in the manner and upon terms and conditions prescribed by the board."

        M.S. 11A.10
        "Subd. 2. Escheated Property. The Commissioner of Finance shall report immediately to the state board [of investment] all personal property other than money received by the state of Minnesota as escheated property. If the state board elects to sell escheated property, all money received from the sale shall be credited to the general fund of the state."

Very rarely. There has been one instance of property escheating to the State since the late 1980's. With continued advances in communication and more extensive recordkeeping, the likelihood of someone dying having assets but with NO heirs who can be found becomes more and more remote.