Editing Escheat (section)

====Bankruptcies and liquidations====
Escheat can still occur in [[England and Wales]], if a person is made [[bankrupt]] or a [[corporation]] is [[liquidation|liquidated]]. Usually this means that all the property held by that person is 'vested in' (transferred to) the [[Official Receiver]] or [[Trustee in Bankruptcy]]. However, it is open to the Receiver or Trustee to refuse to accept that property by [[disclaimer|disclaiming]] it. It is relatively common for a trustee in bankruptcy to disclaim freehold property which may give rise to a liability, for example the common parts of a block of [[Apartment|flats]] owned by the bankrupt would ordinarily pass to the trustee to be realised in order to pay his debts, but the property may give the landlord an obligation to spend money for the benefit of lessees of the flats. The bankruptcy of the original owner means that the freehold is no longer the bankrupt's legal property, and the disclaimer destroys the freehold [[Estate (law)|estate]], so that the land ceases to be owned by anyone and effectively escheats to become land held by the Crown in [[demesne]].  This situation affects a few hundred properties each year.

Although such escheated property is owned by the Crown, it is not part of the [[Crown Estate]], unless the Crown (through the [[Crown Estate Commissioners]]) 'completes' the escheat, by taking steps to exert rights as owner. However, usually, in the example given above, the tenants of the flats, or their [[mortgage law|mortgagees]] would exercise their rights given by the [[Insolvency Act 1986]] to have the freehold property transferred to them. This is the main difference between escheat and ''bona vacantia'', as in the latter, a grant takes place automatically, with no need to 'complete' the transaction.