Definitions:

1. A legal term referring to a person who unlawfully enters and takes possession of land or a building after the previous occupant dies, and before the rightful heir can claim it. NOUN
   • After the landowner's death, an abator seized the property before the rightful heir arrived.
2. A person who enters onto real property after the death of the owner, before the legal heir or devisee, and takes possession without legal right. NOUN
   • The judge ruled that the abator must vacate the premises to allow the rightful heir to assumer ownership.