Property Ownership

In South Dakota, 'escheat' means that property goes to the state when:

AA property owner fails to pay property taxes
BA property owner dies intestate (without a will) with no surviving heirs✓ Correct
CA property is abandoned for more than 5 years
DA property has environmental contamination

Explanation

Escheat is the government power by which real property reverts to the state when a person dies without a will (intestate) and without any qualifying heirs. South Dakota, like all states, exercises escheat to prevent property from being ownerless.

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